The Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata)

 

The Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), is the major defoliator of potato throughout the northern hemisphere [1-5].

Both larvae and adults feed on potato plants causing damage to potato fields and financial losses [6].The beetle is native to Mexico and south eastern USA [7], where it uses wild solanaceous species, such as Solanum rostratum and S. angustifolium, as hosts. The shift to potato occurred sometime before 1850 in the US, when potato farming reached the distribution range of the beetle [2]. The beetle spread rapidly throughout the US reaching the east coast before 1880 [2], and was accidentally introduced to Europe (in France) in the 1920s. In 50 years it spread throughout Europe, except for the UK and Scandinavia. Its current range covers 16 million km2 in North America, Europe and Asia.
 

   


                                                             
                                                                    
A marvelous web site with everything you want to know on the Colorado potato beetle is available here: www.potatobeetle.org

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CPB transcriptome data

Assembly data set (compressed tar.gz)	Notes	SRA Genbank link	Reference	Blast xml file	Annotation (txt file)
454_Combined_assembly	Combined assembly of three beetle data sets  (whole adult; whole larva, larval midgut),  normalized libary, sequencing platform: Roche 454	SRX383897 Adult	Kumar et al (2014) PLoS ONE 9(1): e86012.	Blastx	Annotation
		SRX456146 Larvae	Kumar et al (2014) PLoS ONE 9(1): e86012.
		SRX017239 midgut larvae	Pauchet et al. (2010)

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References:

1.         Alyokhin A, Baker M, Mota-Sanchez D, Dively G, Grafius E (2008) Colorado potato beetle resistance to insecticides. Am J Potato Res 85: 395–413. doi:10.1007/S12230-008-9052-0.
2.         Casagrande RA (1987) The Colorado potato beetle: 125 years of mismanagement. Bull Entomol Soc Amer 33: 142–150.
3.         Gauthier NL, Hofmaster R, Semel M (1981) History of Colorado potato beetle control. In: Lashomb JH, Casagrande RA, editors. Advances in potato pest management. Stroudsburg, PA.: Hutchinson Ross Publishing

Company. pp. 13–33.

4.         Weber DC, Ferro DN (1994) Colorado potato beetle: diverse life history poses challenge to management. Advances in potato pest biology and management. St. Paul, Minnesota: APS Press. pp. 54–70.
5.         Smith IM, Charles LMF (1998) Distribution maps of quarantine pests for Europe. CABI. 768 p.
6.         Hare JD (1990) Ecology and management of the Colorado potato beetle. Annu Rev Entomol 35: 81–100.
7.         Tower WL (1906) An investigation of evolution in chrysomelid beetles of the genus Leptinotarsa. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution. 320 p.