That's super beetle that is. The potato beetles hired him in revenge. First he eats on your potato plants to lure you in with the pliers. Then he eats the pliers! Just kidding. I have no idea but the comical notion popped into my head and I had to share it.

It looks like an immature beetle. How many have you found?

http://www.insectidentification.org/beetles.asp

You can search for bugs in your state, on that site.

Not CPB. I bet UNC has a pest-identification page.

Years ago in a different city I had troubles with the spotted potato beetle. The next year I had bought too big of a bulk bag of onion bulbets and planted an onion between each spud. I hilled as usual. I had no beetles that year and had a bunch of long onions that looked more like leeks. Perhaps a coincident but, no beettes.

thanks for the suggestions. I've looked all over the web and just can't seem to id this pest. Now have removed at least a 100 or so of these from 2 50' rows. They seem to like red and white potatoes equally and caused several of the plants to wilt. Just my luck to be visited by an alternative to the CPB!

Mike,
This is my first year growing potatoes & I just found 2 of those same bugs on my plants yesterday! I squashed them, then came in & googled Potato Beetle, expecting that to be the bug I've heard so much about, but the CPB is striped. I'm watching this thread to see if anyone else can positively identify this guy.

Closest bug i can find is the Bean leaf beetle. My picture appears to be a not fully grown adult. Don't know why they would suddenly develop a taste for potatoes. Wish they would find a soybean patch far away!
{{gwi:53924}}