Peanut beetle

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Revision as of 14:50, 11 April 2008

The Bug Collection

Peanut Beetle
Habitat:	Temperate climes, specifically in proximity to peanut plants.
Description:	This insect's carapace, although smooth, is colored in shades of brown that very closely resemble the shell surrounding immature peanut pods. The waffle-like pattern begins just behind the small olive green head and end near a small tail-like protrusion behind the folded wingtips. Roughly hourglass-shaped, the carapaces are each formed of two small chitinous plates on this thum-long beetle, which protect the wings when folded.
Notes:	Although long thought to be a garden and peanut field pest, the peanut beetle's staple diet is aphids and small fungi. Their natural enemies are chiefly ants and spiders, although often they are wiped out of fields in the mistaken belief that they are responsible for the damage caused by the aphids and fungus they eat. Experience with mistaking the dead beetles at harvest for a peanut have taught that they are extremely unpleasant-tasting.

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 |notes= Although long thought to be a garden and peanut field pest, the peanut beetle's staple diet is aphids and small fungi. Their natural enemies are chiefly ants and spiders, although often they are wiped out of fields in the mistaken belief that they are responsible for the damage caused by the aphids and fungus they eat. Experience with mistaking the dead beetles at harvest for a peanut have taught that they are extremely unpleasant-tasting.
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+Back to the [[Insect/Arachnid]] page.