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Bronzed field beetles have been identified for agronomist, Natalie Thornton (Elders), who reports finding them attacking canola near Ballarat, in the Western district of Victoria. The beetles are suspected of causing damage seen in the crop; consisting of cotyledons and leaves cut from the plants, leaf scalloping, and holes in some leaves. The affected paddock has had no insecticide history over the past five years. Monitoring has occurred over the past 2 weeks and the damage has remained low.
Bronzed field beetles are important pests of establishing canola and typically do not affect cereal and pulse crops. They damage plants by chewing on seedlings at or above ground level. Bronzed field beetles are up to 11 mm long and shiny black in colour with a slight bronze appearance. Larvae may also feed on roots and underground stems of plants. Larvae are typically found within the top 1 cm of the soil and can be found under plant material, clods of soil, rocks or wood. The larvae have elongate, generally cylindrical bodies, with three pairs of legs behind the head. They are typically dark brown, up to 12 mm in length and 3 mm wide.
For further information on bronzed field beetles refer to PestFacts Issue No. 5.
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PestFacts south-eastern keeps growers and advisers informed about invertebrate pests and beneficials in broadacre crops and pastures during the winter-cropping season in Victoria and southern New South Wales.
PestFacts south-eastern is run through IPMforGrains: Best Practice Insect Pest Management, a project delivered by the National Pest Information Network (cesar, DPIRD, QDAF, NSW DPI, and SARDI). This project aims to provide grain growers and advisors with information on invertebrate grain pest occurrence and equip industry with the knowledge needed to implement integrated pest management practices. This initiative is a GRDC investment and includes in-kind contributions from all project partner organisations.
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