Question of the Week – Yellowmargin Leaf Beetle and Vegetable Weevil

This week, the question was: What has been feeding on this neglected Napa cabbage?

This Napa cabbage is being fed on by larvae of both the yellow margined leaf beetle (YMLB, Microtheca ochroloma) and vegetable weevil (Listroderes difficilis). YMLB can be a significant pest for organic production, especially turnips and Napa cabbage, which they prefer. In fact, this preference can be leveraged to use either of these two as a ‘trap crop’ that lures the beetle away from other crops such as cabbage or mustard. Read more on vegetable weevil here and YMLB here.

This week’s question is from Tom Bilbo, Extension Vegetable Entomologist.