Sedum

Brightly colored flea beetles feeding on stonecrop (family Crassulaceae) in southwest Ohio were first reported in the BYGL in 2011. The leaf and stem damage caused by both the adults and larvae was so severe on Orpine (Hylotelephium telephium (synonym Sedum telephium)) ‘Autumn Joy’ it was difficult to identify the plants as sedum.

I first encountered these brightly colored flea beetles in an eastern Cincinnati landscape in mid-October 2011. The beetles were doing so much damage the only way I could identify the defoliated plants was through a plant tag; it was Hylotelephium telephium ‘Autumn Joy’ (family Crassulaceae). There was little joy in the appearance of the landscape planting.

We teach the importance of identifying a pest in order to develop an effective pest management plan. An accurate ID leads to learning about the pest's lifestyle including host range and numbers of generations per season. Occasionally, a significant insect pest somehow continues to fly below the radar of insect taxonomists.

In early October, 2011, I received a phone call from a homeowner in eastern Cincinnati who said brightly colored beetles were destroying her Sedum x 'Autumn Joy' (family Crassulaceae). I visited and found that a flea beetle that I'd never seen before was doing so much damage it was hard to identify the plants.