The Colorado Potato Beetle: 125 Years of Mismanagement

Since the colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), was first recognized as a pest of potatoes (Edgerton 1861) it has had a profound effect. on the potato crop and on all persons engaged in agricultural production and research. This insect resulted in the first large-scale use of insecticides on an agricultural crop, and this successful use quickly stimulated widespread applications to other crops. For over 80 yr the CPB was successfully controlled by insecticides, influencing generations of agriculturalists to depend upon this unilateral approach for managing this pest and others.