Subject: I think i may have a new type of bug i found on the sidewalk and carefully took it home
Geographic location of the bug: Slovenia, Logatec
Date: 09/21/2017
Time: 08:33 AM EDT
Is it a new type it looms like half a ladybug ( the head) and some kind of black and bage stripes
How you want your letter signed: However you want
This is a Leaf Beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It looks to us like a Colorado Potato Beetle, which is native to the Rocky Mountains in North America. This amusing BBC News article begins with “In 1950 the East German government claimed the Americans were dropping potato beetles out of planes over GDR fields in an attempt to sabotage their crops. Was it true, or an example of Cold War propaganda?” According to BugGuide: “before the introduction of the potato in the US, was confined to Colorado and neighboring states feeding on native Solanum species; now occurs in most potato growing areas both in NA and Europe has become a serious pest in Europe.“