Classic leaf beetle called babanukha

If on leafy vegetables: cabbage, lettuce, horseradish, holes were found on the leafy mass, then it is possible that a babanukha beetle settled in your garden. An insect with such a bizarre name combines two types of leaf beetles: horseradish (with emphasis on the first syllable) and cabbage. Both beetles are relatives and only gastronomic addictions and insignificant nuances in appearance distinguish them.

Description and photos of babanuhi

Leaf beetles are not particularly demanding on climatic conditions. Distributed throughout Europe, found in the Khabarovsk Territory, the Magadan Region, in Mongolia and Central Asia.

Morphological features

Babanukha is characterized by a very memorable appearance:

• The length of the body varies in the range of 3.5-6 mm. The largest sizes are characteristic of females.
• The color of the horseradish leaf beetle is blue-black, occasionally with a dark green bottle or purple tint. From the outside, the luster of the cover attracts attention. On the inside of the chest, the body is dull.
• The body is slightly elongated with a strongly convex back.
• Pronotum surface as if covered with dotted dents, front margins smoothly rounded.
• Elytra with pronounced elevated tubercle. There are nine point depressions on them.
• The legs are dark, metal.
• The head is densely covered with small fossae. Long segmented antennae after segment 7 expand, with careful examination, hairs are noticeable on them.

Cabbage leaf beetle practically does not differ from its fellow, except that the abdomen is bordered with a red edging, and the whiskers are black in color.

Eggs are oblong, yellow, 5 mm in length. Larvae of a leaf beetle of dirty caramel color with a shiny, black, sclerotized head. As they grow older they become dark in color. All segments are covered with bristles. Pupae are also yellow tones and covered with hairs.

The nuances of life

Insects winter in the surface layers of the soil, in manure, under plant debris, fallen leaves. Shelters leave with the onset of heat. Most often, this moment coincides with the planting of seedlings. Starving individuals after winter, they first feed on weeds. Horseradish leaves are among the first to appear on the site, and the horseradish leaf beetle rushes to its main source of nutrition.

Cabbage leaf beetle prefers cruciferous crops: cabbage, lettuce, radish, swede, rape, turnip.

Babanuhs damage leaves, gnawing through them through holes and leaving torn edges. With the number of beetles, only the main streaks remain a reminder of the green leaf mass. Females gnaw holes in the foliage and lay eggs in them. Females are responsible for the process. Lay eggs one at a time and seal them with a special secret, which protects the embryos from drying out and the negative effects of the environment.Despite the duration and monotony of egg laying, each female is highly fertile and can give life to 400 individuals.

Embryonic development lasts about 2 weeks. Hatching larvae of a babanuha are characterized by excellent appetite and immediately begin to eat, eating nutritious leaf tissue. Young individuals first kept in groups. The oral apparatus is still underdeveloped, so they scrape off the upper layer of the epidermis of the leaf. If you touch the young larva of a babanuha, then it peculiarly rises, resting on the back of the abdomen.

For 3 weeks, the larvae gain the necessary mass and go into the soil for pupation. In September, young bugs appear that remain in the ground for wintering. Depending on weather conditions and climate, 1-2 generations develop per year. The optimal development conditions for the babanukha are overcast, damp weather.

Interesting fact! If a cabbage or horseradish leaf beetle feels danger, he falls back and pretends to be dead. Adult larvae act in the same way, which immediately touch the ground and roll down.

What harm do babanuhs bring?

Leaf beetles completely justify their name and damage the leaves. They do great harm to the fragile seedlings of cabbage and rutabaga seedlings, which can die. In the summer, the cabbage leaf beetle greatly harms the formed head of cabbage, gnawing holes in the leaves. This provokes the development of fungal diseases, wilting of damaged areas and entails a decrease in the quality and marketability of the vegetable.

Horseradish leaf beetle spoils the leaves of the plant of the same name, which are often used to pickle various vegetables. The damaged fragment does not look respectable, and besides, there may be babanuh eggs on it, which completely discourages the desire to use such leaves for pickling.

How to deal with leaf beetles

Ways of dealing with babanuhi are determined by the number of pests. The following methods can be used as preventive and destructive measures:

1. Removing cruciferous weeds (colza, shepherd’s bag), which leaf beetles use as auxiliary food.
2. Deep digging of the soil in late autumn. Low temperatures are critical for insects and cease their activity.
3. Regular cleaning of plant debris.
4. Compliance with the principles of crop rotation.
5. Avoid waterlogging and heavy watering.
6. Manual collection, which is possible due to the distinctive appearance of cabbage and horseradish leaf beetles.
7. Optimally early planting of crops that affects a woman.
8. If necessary, treatment is carried out with the preparations Fosbetsid, Actellik, Karbofos, Fury, Inta-Vir. Means are diluted in accordance with the instructions and treat them with infected plants. In cases where the leaves already look like a sieve, Chlorophos is used.

Folk methods

Folk methods are based mainly on the use of repellent properties of certain plants and substances:

• Spraying with vinegar is used to control many garden pests. The tool is well established and for scaring away babanuhi. A bottle of 9% table vinegar with a volume of 500 ml is mixed with 10 liters of cool water. The resulting mixture in the evening hours in dry weather is treated with plants.
• Powder dusting with wood ash is no less effective. It can be the only component or mixed in equal amounts with tobacco. There is also a recipe that involves preparing a mixture of one glass of ash, a teaspoon of hot pepper and one tablespoon of dry mustard.
• To control pests, lime is used. The easiest way is to sprinkle the soil with a thin layer of dry matter. For 1 square. 10 g of dry lime is enough. A more complicated use of the substance is to prepare a composition of 2 kg of hydrated lime, 10 liters of water and 50 g of wood glue, which will improve the adhesion of the solution.The resulting substance is sprayed with plants.