Sugarbeet tortoise beetle (Cassida vittata Wild, Col., Chrysomelidae) in Gharb: Development cycle and control strategy

In the Gharb and Loukkos regions, the Tortoise Beetle (Cassida vittata Vill) develops a single annual generation due to obligatory imaginal dormancy induced by summer conditions. The weekly counts of the various stages of the insect made during two campaigns, reveal a homogeneous life cycle for all areas covered by the study: arrival of adults on fields of sugar beet from early January, feeding and spawning starting from late February to early March, straddling larval development, adult of the year generation and migration to sites of aestivation. The influence of these sites of aestivating on the infestation of adjacent beet crops has been sought. Depending on the method of analysis used, it seems not to be clear correlation. At their awakening, the Tortoise Beetle likely scatter freely on the fields. 

 Keywords : Cassida vittata, Tortoise Beetle, sugar beet, life cycle, control strategy, Morocco