Description

Adult

Body length of 4.4 – 6.8 mm. Pronotum is shiny yellow and abdomen is yellow and usually has three dark stripes that may or may not converge; a sutural stripe and two lateral darker stripes. The head is shiny with the vertex (top of head) amber in colour. Antennae of males are ca. 4.2 mm in length and longer than in females. Antennal segment 3 is 1.5 times longer than segment 2. Legs are yellow to tawny brown.

Larvae

Ca. 10mm long when fully grown, slender and white to pale yellow in colour with a yellowish-brown head capsule and a brownish plate on the posterior abdominal segment.

Eggs

Oval, beige and ca. 0.5mm in length. Generally laid in the top 5-20 cm of soil. The overwintering stage, usually hatching in May.

Distribution

North America, Central America and Europe.

Economic Host(s)

Maize, wheat and cucurbits such as pumpkin and marrow.

Symptoms/Signs

Newly hatched larvae feed on root hairs but later instars bury into the plant roots to feed with damage being most severe when plants have developed their secondary root systems. Root tips will appear brown and contain tunnels. Larvae may burrow through plant tissue at the base causing stunting or death of the growing point. Early symptoms appear as nutrient deficiencies with plant lodging occurring later on. Secondary infections can occur at sites of larval damage.

Generations:

1