How to Identify Green Onion Beetles

With a milder taste and texture than fully grown plants, green onions are harvested immature onion plants. While not many insects will feed on mature onions, a species of shining leaf beetles knows as lilioceris merdigera, also referred to as onion beetles, feed and lay their eggs on the tender shoots of the green onion. With numerous species of beetles inhabiting gardens, some being beneficial, you can identify onion beetles by a few specific traits.

Metric ruler

Instructions

- 1
  Look for beetles that are a shiny and bright red in color. Additionally, onion beetles have black markings on their antenna and legs with white-ish to yellow dots on their wing coverings.
- 2
  Measure the bugs with a metric ruler. Adult onion beetles grow to between 6 to 8 mm in length.
- 3
  Listen for sounds on a quiet evening. Adult male beetles will make a chipping sound, similar to crickets, in an attempt to attract females for mating.
- 4
  Examine onion leaves for larvae. Onion beetle larvae will be grayish and covered with a pungent, protective black mucilaginous substance that is a mixture of glandular secretion and their own feces.

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