Pest Profile

Southern Corn Leaf Beetle
Myochorus denticollis

Pest Description

Beetles 3/16- to 1/5-inch long, drab in color, grayish to brownish, and may be covered with soil particles. These insects fall readily to the ground when disturbed. Feeding damage reduces plants to fragments and the cause of the injury can be easily mistaken as cutworms. Healthy stands can disappear in a few days if large numbers of beetles descend on a field.

Source of information

J.P. Michaud (http://entomology.k-state.edu/extension/insect-information/crop-pests/corn/southern-corn-leaf-beetle.html)

Pest photo source

http://entomology.k-state.edu/extension/insect-information/crop-pests/corn/