Forum home› Fruit & veg
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

brassica pest ID please

neilbradburnneilbradburn Posts: 142
in Fruit & veg
There are tens of them on my brassica seedlings. They have destroyed most of them by breaking the leaf stems and holes in the leaves. They are small black beetles around 2mm in length and with a hard shell. They aren't flee beatles - not that I'm familiar with anyway.

Any help would be most appreciated!

Kind regards 
«1

Posts

  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    I'm rubbish at identification neilbradburn but I'd guess some kind of weevil? Difficult to see in that picture but vine weevil maybe?
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    edited July 2018
    I was going to say Vine Weevil but at only 2mm they are not those.  Are you sure it’s 2mm and not 2cm? 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    Looks like vine weevil to me herbaceous 👍
    Treating the soil with nematodes is best way to kill them off around edibles Neil.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384
    edited July 2018
    It is cabbage stem weevil (Ceutorhynchus pallidactylus) which are about 3mm:




    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    Possibly Cabbage stem weevils. Have they got a white spot in the middle of the back? Hard to see from the image.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    edited July 2018
    But these are too small for Vine Weevil unless Neil has made a mistake. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    Oh Lyn, 2mm, 2cm its all a mystery to me  but you're right - just looked at my tape measure 
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150
    Ah, I didn't notice the size. Sorry 😞.
  • neilbradburnneilbradburn Posts: 142
    Hi all.

    Many thanks for the lightening quick responses! Looks like a cabbage stem weevil - it has the white spot on its back.. The seedlings are in modules in my gravel lined coldframe. Is the communal compost the way to go for my plants? Don't think nematodes would be effective or economical in my situation(?)  

    Kind regards. 
  • Alan Clark2 in LiverpoolAlan Clark2 in Liverpool Posts: 2,190
    It is the lesser of two weevils.
Sign In or Register to comment.