Howdy bug lover's and welcome to today's episode of Arthro-Pod! Over the last couple of years, Jonathan has noticed it seems like the Colorado potato beetle pops up again and again in the history of entomology. So, for today's show, he tried to cover this handsome beetle's history from the 1800s until today. It's a crazy tale that involved colonization, war, Cold War era tactics, and even the Ukrainian-Russian War. Tune in to hear how this humble coleopteran from the Great Plains has become an international super bug!
We would also love to direct you to listener Emily Sur's design store! Pick up a cool shirt or other fun item today!
https://my-store-dd3c45.creator-spring.com
Show notes
Major source:
Say’s Description
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b4268076&view=1up&seq=493
 |
| While not a Colorado potato beetle, this diagram shows off the trick tarsal formula for CPB |
Origin of CPB
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1215&context=tgle
 |
| The movement of Colorado potato beetle from Nebraska to the Eastern US |
 |
| The movement of Colorado potato beetle as an invasive pest in Europe. |
Origins of potatoes
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20200302-the-true-origins-of-the-humble-potato
Native potatoes:
War on the Potato Beetle
https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23929124
Communist propaganda:
https://research.calvin.edu/german-propaganda-archive/amikafer.htm
Ukraine and Koloradi
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-colorado-beetle-separatists/25365793.html
https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/amet.13131
CPB Control
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2424e/
https://ag.umass.edu/sites/ag.umass.edu/files/pdf-doc-ppt/cpb_insecticide_groups.pdf
https://cropwatch.unl.edu/potato/colo_potato_beetle
Questions? Comments?
