1st June 1963

Colorado beetle arrives in Jersey

“Beaches along the north and east coasts of Jersey are being sprayed with insecticide after some 200 Colorado beetles were found on the shores,” reported The Times. The beetle, which is a parasite of tomato and potato crops, could have spelled disaster for both Jersey and Guernsey’s seasonal crops.

Colorado beetles had invaded the Channel Islands in June 1947 after being blown across from France. Many were washed up dead, but the 1963 infestation was possibly more serious because of the large number that were arriving still alive. Nonetheless, in 1947 Jersey’s potato exports to the mainland had been suspended after beetles were found in crates unloaded there.

 

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