ASB Diet
The ASB feeds on red and white clover, broad-leafed dock, wild carrot, wild strawberries, blackberries, dogwood, alfalfa, other legumes and weeds.
ASB Life Cycle (3 Years)
Year 1
May: adult beetles emerge and feed on alfalfa foliage for three weeks to build fat reserves for egg laying
May-June: adults enter a non-feeding dispersal phase, laying eggs at the base of host plants. One adult can lay up to 500 eggs.
June-November: larvae feed on alfalfa plant roots, the most heavily damaged plants begin to die in August. Remaining plant death occurs in September-October. In November larvae burrow deep into the soil for a full year, they become adults the following summer.
Year 2
April-May: stand loss is seen, field are patchy or barren. Surviving plants may fill in quickly and areas may not be seen as damaged.
June-Aug: larvae remain in hibernation but finish developing and turn into adults
Year 3
April-May: ASB that began in Year 1 now emerge in alfalfa fields as adults
