Meet the Beetle, Khapra Beetle, That Is

[Ohiorganic]

grist.org/food/beetlemania-invasive-insect-could-become-our-billion-dollar-problem/

meet the Khapra beetle, it will eat almost anything

[bunkie]

fixing your link ohio...

http://grist.org/food/beetlemania-in...ollar-problem/

important questions..."As more food crosses borders than ever before, biology is complicating both finance and diplomacy. The number of invasive plants, insects, and pathogens intercepted by CBP has nearly doubled in the last decade. It’s an upswing that prefigures a more complex economics of the future, and one that takes into account such questions as “How much do we stand to gain by importing this rice? How much do we stand to lose if importing this rice brings over an insect we have to spend millions of dollars to get rid of?”..."

reminds me othee the bugs episodes we've had of bringing in good bugs to eat the bad bugs...then having to find a way to cut down the masses of good bugs...

[RozieDozie]

The Khapra beetle sounds pretty scary.

We had the newly arrived "Bean Plataspid" in our garden last year. It attacked the beans and ate and ate and ate.... It's tiny, brown, with a square bottom.

The more food we import, the greater the risk of introducing these pests.

[Ohiorganic]

and than there is the marmorated stink bug which responds well to organic controls (e.g. predatory insects and spiders). I have a feeling this too can be controlled well without chemicals.

[boizeau]

And just think of all the imports coming into every nook and cranny from China via Wal Mart?

I hope they are squeaky clean................?

[atl.veggie]

Originally Posted by RozieDozie

We had the newly arrived "Bean Plataspid" in our garden last year. It attacked the beans and ate and ate and ate.... It's tiny, brown, with a square bottom.

here it's called kudzu bug
kudzu vines are covered in it, it hibernates near roots, within bark, under rocks
it comes by the thousands, when they crawl on you they leave raised reddish blotches, that itch
so far it stuck with the kudzu in my yard, did not touch the beans