Leptinotarsa decemlineata
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata; also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, and the potato bug) is a beetle known for being a major pest of potato crops. It is about 10 mm (3⁄8 in) long, with a bright yellow/orange body and five bold brown stripes along the length of each of its wings. Native to the Rocky Mountains, it spread rapidly in potato crops across the United States and then Europe from 1859 onwards.
The Colorado potato beetle was first observed in 1811 by Thomas Nuttall and was formally described in 1824 by American entomologist Thomas Say. The beetles were collected in the Rocky Mountains, where they were feeding on the buffalo bur, Solanum rostratum.
Adult beetles typically are 6–11 mm (0.24–0.43 in) in length and 3 mm (0.12 in) in width. They weigh 50–170 mg. The beetles are orange-yellow in color with 10 characteristic black stripes on their front wings or elytra. The specific name decemlineata, meaning "ten-lined", derives from this feature.
Adult beetles may be visually confused with L. juncta, which is the false potato beetle. Unlike the Colorado potato beetle, it is not an agricultural... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Tatra National Park | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | |
| 3 | Białowieża National Park | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 4 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 6 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 7 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 2 | Hamburg | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 3 | Essen | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Kyiv | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | |
| 6 | Nizhny Novgorod | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 7 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 8 | Warsaw | 🇵🇱 Poland | |
| 9 | Novosibirsk | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 10 | Lyon | 🇫🇷 France |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Colorado Potato Beetle sighting in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, based on 26 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 173rd most-seen of the 1115 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May to October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Colorado Potato Beetle in Bavarian Forest National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to April, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Colorado Potato Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 9
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Colorado Potato Beetle sightings, Bavarian Forest National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Badlands National Park (United States, about 20%), Tatra National Park (Slovakia, about 10%) and Białowieża National Park (Poland, about 10%).
Same family: Chrysomelidae
The closest relatives of the Colorado Potato Beetle that you can see in Bavarian Forest National Park (family Chrysomelidae, Leaf Beetles) are Poplar Leaf Beetle (about 10%), Willow Clytra (about 10%) and Alder Leaf Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Colorado Potato Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Bavarian Forest National Park (26 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
