Never seen this before

[Kam]

Flea beetle?

 

[Flat 10]

In maize? Looks awfully like it but didn't know they ate it. Mind never seen Beet flea beetle until this year either. I have noticed that there's a flea beetle that is eating my bindweed which is cheering me up a tiny bit.

 

[Kidds]

Definitely not hail?
Your soil surface suggests it could be.

 

[Fish]

I would say hail damage, dad tells of a hail storm that came through the vale in the mid 60s, took out all the maze crop, just left ragged stumps.

 

[Breakthru]

I would say hail damage, dad tells of a hail storm that came through the vale in the mid 60s, took out all the maze crop, just left ragged stumps.

Hail would have left more bruising and other physical damage. Looks eaten to me.

 

[Bogweevil]

When holes in leaf symmetrical on each side of leaf I suspect grazing of young rolled leaf perhaps by small caterpillars or perhaps by puncture wounds from sap sucking insects. Long gone now I expect.

 

[Woodlander]

Flea beetle seem to be eating everything!! My wild bird seed mixes with kale in, have seen the kale mullered in places, and even watched flea beetle creating shot holes in the cereal species in the mix.

 

[ollie989898]

It's slug damage.

Seen it many times.

 

[Kam]

It's not hail, only a smallish percentage of plants have suffered this damage. On inspecting other fields I have not seen damage anywhere else. The difference with this field to the others is that it had been in a long term grass ley prior to maize. Any other thoughts?

 

[Kam]

It's slug damage.

Seen it many times.

Slugs on black sand? I've never spread a slug pellet in my life.

 

[ollie989898]

I've never seen black sandy soils, I have seen peat on the levels. That looks very very similar to slug damage on maize I have seen many many times. If you dig around that plant you will probably find the culprit.

 

[Kam]

I'll go get my trowel

 

[ollie989898]

I would not expect to see that kind of damage if it was leatherjackets- they tend to totally shred the plant, that looks too modest for them. The alternative is some nasty caterpillar type thing but I have never seen any on maize, I know they get a couple of nasty insect pests of maize in other parts of the world though.

 

[Kam]

Flea beetle it is...... I just moved a tuft of dead grass next to a badly damaged plant and four of the little ***kers were hiding under there!

 

[Godber]

Go out with a torch later on this evening you should catch them on the leaves if they are flea beetles

 

[Flat 10]

Go out with a torch later on this evening you should catch them on the leaves if they are flea beetles

Not all Flea beetles are nocturnal. CSFB are but I don't think either FlaxFB or BeetFB are.

 

[Boysground]

I was convinced it was slugs. Going to have to check my maize now.

Bg

 

[Shutesy]

Flea beetle it is...... I just moved a tuft of dead grass next to a badly damaged plant and four of the little ***kers were hiding under there!

View attachment 803720

Has that got the big rear pair of legs of a flea beetle?

 

[Kam]

Yes, I think you can make them out slightly better in this picture. You can also just see one of his mates hiding below him in the tuft of grass.