Cultural and Visual Representations of the Colorado Beetle
My research focuses on cultural and visual representations of the Colorado beetle in the context of the Cold War, environmental history, and the anthropology of resistance. It is inspired by the entomological myths of Roger Caillois and his literary analysis of the praying mantis. Caillois examines the mantis not only from a biological perspective, but also in relation to psychoanalysis and the symbolic significance of mimicry. This approach is extended by studying visual narratives (image events) showing how the Colorado beetle was perceived and interpreted in Cold War propaganda. Through the use of literary semiotics, the research will examine the construction of its visual representations and their role in the wider social and political context. Archival sources, particularly materials from the Czech Communist Party archives and local archives, will play an important role in providing historical records of the campaigns against these invaders.
In a second plan, I will attempt to link this research to the main theme of the Resisterra project - the anthropology of resistance. The example of the Colorado beetle in Czechoslovakia can also be used to explore how the cultural imagination and visual representation of the 'American beetle' relates to broader issues of environmental conflict, the colonisation of nature and symbolic resistance to hegemonic power structures. In Cold War propaganda, the Colorado beetle was seen not only as a biological threat, but also as a political agent. It was allegedly deliberately planted by imperialist powers to undermine socialist agrarian economies. This rhetoric was part of a wider strategy in which environmental phenomena were transformed into tools of ideological warfare.
The main research questions focus on the relationship between the human imagination and the affective processes involved in relating to threats to the environment. They explore the degree of perception of the Colorado Beetle as a cultural and ideological phenomenon rather than a biological plague. How was this threat framed in the media and in propaganda? To what extent have its visual representations influenced public perceptions of environmental problems? And how have these images changed in different historical and geographical contexts? The research thus seeks to understand how environmental threats become part of a broader cultural narrative, rather than simply analysing the Colorado beetle as a biological species.
By adopting the perspectives of literary semiotics and visual theory, the Colorado Beetle can be understood as an embodiment of power dynamics manifesting in narratives of threat, control and resistance to external interference. Anthropologically, it is crucial to ask how different societies construct the meaning of nonhuman actors and what resistance strategies emerge in response to environmental or political crises. Thus, from narratives that portray the Colorado beetle as an alien invader to popular responses to propaganda campaigns, the Colorado beetle becomes not only a biological phenomenon but also a symbol of resistance and resilience. In this sense, the research echoes, for example, the work of James C. Scott (Weapons of the Weak), who explores subtle forms of resistance to power structures, but also theories of postcolonial ecologies, which analyse how natural entities are implicated in mechanisms of discipline and resistance.
Publications
Bogdanov-Kaťkov, N. N. (1949). Mandelinka bramborová. Ministerstvo zemědělství.
Bojnanský, V. (1950). Mandelinka zemiaková je v celom svete uznávaná za najväčšieho škodcu zemiakov! [Leaflet]. Štátne výskumné ústavy poľnohospodárske.
Burda, M., & Vojáček, O. (1950). Tisíc Azot z akce M. Rudé právo.
Caillois, R. (1945). Sur l'enjeu d'une guerre. Sagittaire.
Caillois, R. (1950). L'homme et le sacré: Édition augmentée de trois appendices sur le sexe, le jeu, la guerre dans leurs rapports avec le sacré. Gallimard.
Claudine, F. (Ed.). (2003). The edge of surrealism: A Roger Caillois reader. Duke University Press.
Česká televize. (2011). Co by kdyby mandelinka zvítězila [Video]. Česká televize.
Díaz, R., & Dirlbeck, J. (1964). Použití traktorových zmlžovačů typu Solgen v boji proti mandelince bramborové. Ústav vědeckotechnických informací MZLVH.
Dirlbeck, J. (1963). Zhodnocení chemického ošetření porostu brambor proti mandelince [Leptinotarsa decemlineata SAY] z hlediska: a) škodlivosti mandelinky bramborové b) působení insekticidu na bázi DDT na entomocenosu brambořiště c) možnosti vzniku rezistentních kmenů škůdce vůči DDT. [s.n.].
Doležal, P., & Hausvater, E. (2020). Ochrana brambor proti mandelince bramborové. Výzkumný ústav bramborářský Havlíčkův Brod, s.r.o.: Poradenský svaz "Bramborářský kroužek", z.s.
Foltyn, J., & Kac, A. (1951). Do boje proti americkému brouku / Dobře se připravme na boj proti americkému brouku. Brázda.
Gerold, K. (1877). Kolorado, bramborníček, brouk bramborový.
Gerstaecker, A. (1877). Der Colorado-Käfer (Doryphora decemlineata) und sein Auftreten in Deutschland: Im Auftrage des Königl. Preußischen Ministeriums für die landwirtschaftlichen Angelegenheiten nach eigenen Beobachtungen und amtlichen Quellen. Theodor Fischer.
Hanker, I. (1971). Rezistence hmyzu vůči DDT: Dílčí závěrečná zpráva, číslo úkolu: A-O-76-101/10 (dříve A-O-40-101/10). Radiobiologická laboratoř.
Hausvater, E., & Doležal, P. (2014). Metodika integrované ochrany brambor proti mandelince bramborové (Leptinotarsa decemlineata). Výzkumný ústav bramborářský: Poradenský svaz Bramborářský kroužek.
Jakovlev, B. V. (1952). Mandelinka bramborová. Přírodovědecké vydavatelství.
Jones, D. A. (2023). The "fascist" and the "potato beetle": Patriotic chronotopes and dehumanizing language in wartime Ukraine. American Ethnologist, 50(1), 30–42.
Koloradskij žuk. (2002). Ministerstvo zemědělství Ruské federace.
Kourová, P. (2008). Kampaň proti "americkému brouku" a její politické souvislosti. Paměť a dějiny, 2(1), 22–38, 214.
Macura, V. (1991). Mandelinka bramborová. Tvar, 2(2), 1, 4 -5.
Metodika integrované ochrany brambor proti mandelince bramborové v nových agroenvironmentálních podmínkách: Certifikovaná metodika. (2023). Výzkumný ústav bramborářský Havlíčkův Brod, s.r.o.
Nebezpečná mandelinka bramborová a obrana proti ní: Vládní nařízení ze dne 24. února 1939, č. 45. Sb. z. a n., o opatřeních proti mandelince bramborové / K tisku upravili Dr. Ing. J. Dudar a Dr. Ing. C. Blattny. (1939/1945). Ministerstvo zemědělství.
Pallutt, W. (1983). Der Kartoffelkäfer und seine Bekämpfung. Landwirtschaftsausstellung der DDR.
Pulatov, B. (2015). Potential impact of climate change on European agriculture: A case study of potato and Colorado potato beetle (Master’s thesis). Lund University, Faculty of Science, Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science.
Sekora, O. (1950). O zlém brouku Bramborouku: O mandelince americké, která chce loupit z našich talířů. SNDK.
Starý, B. (1949). Mandelinka bramborová a ochranná opatření proti ní. Ministerstvo zemědělství.
