Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi and D

Cucumber beetle is a common name given to members of two genera of

beetles Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

, ''

Diabrotica ''Diabrotica'' is a large, widespread genus of beetles in the family Chrysomelidae. Members of this genus include several destructive agricultural pest species, sometimes referred to as cucumber beetles or corn rootworms. Species * '' Diabrot ...

'' and ''

Acalymma ''Acalymma'' is a genus of leaf beetles found mainly in the New World. Approximately 72 species have been described in the Western Hemisphere. Pest Species and Impacts In the United States, two species are major pests of cucurbits, the striped ...

'', both in the family

Chrysomelidae The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

. The adults can be found on

cucurbits The Cucurbitaceae, also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family consisting of about 965 species in around 95 genera, of which the most important to humans are: *''Cucurbita'' – squash, pumpkin, zucchini, some gourds *''Lagena ...

such as

cucumber Cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated Vine#Horticultural climbing plants, creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae family that bears usually cylindrical Fruit, fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.

s and a variety of other plants. Many are notorious

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

of agricultural crops. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e of several cucumber beetles are known as corn rootworms. Some well-known pests include the

western corn rootworm The Western corn rootworm, ''Diabrotica virgifera virgifera'', is one of the most devastating corn rootworm species in North America, especially in the midwestern corn-growing areas such as Iowa. A related species, the Northern corn rootworm, ...

(''D. virgifera virgifera''), the

spotted cucumber beetle ''Diabrotica undecimpunctata'', the spotted cucumber beetle or southern corn rootworm, is a species of cucumber beetle that is native to North America. The species can be a major agricultural pest insect in North America. Spotted cucumber beetle ...

and its larva, the southern corn rootworm (''D. undecimpunctata''), the cucurbit beetle (''D. speciosa''), the banded cucumber beetle (''D. balteata''), the northern corn rootworm (''D. barberi''), the

striped cucumber beetle ''Acalymma vittatum'', the striped cucumber beetle, is a beetle of the family Chrysomelidae and a serious pest of cucurbit crops in both larval and adult stages. It is distributed from eastern North America to the Rocky Mountains. It is replaced ...

(''A. vittatum''), and the western striped cucumber beetle (''A. trivittatum''). The insects live about eight weeks, during which time both larva and adult feed on plants. Adults will attack the tender young growth of stems and leaves, and the buds and petals on mature specimens. They also carry and spread the bacterial wilt organism ''

Erwinia tracheiphila Bacterial wilt is a complex of diseases that occur in plants such as Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae (tomato, common bean, etc.) and are caused by the pathogens ''Erwinia tracheiphila'', a gram-negative bacterium, or '' Curtobacterium flaccumfacien ...

'' and the

cucumber mosaic virus ''Cucumber mosaic virus'' (CMV) is a plant pathogenic virus in the family ''Bromoviridae''. This virus has a worldwide distribution and a very wide host range, having the reputation of the widest host range of any known plant virus. It can be tra ...

. Eggs are laid in clusters on the undersides of host leaves and hatch into larvae long. The larvae often tunnel into the soil to attack roots. Cucumber beetles can overwinter in crop fields or in

compost Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil's physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting m ...

or trash piles. Eradication efforts may include manual removal, clearing cultivated areas of litter, debris, and infested plants, and application of

pyrethrin The pyrethrins are a class of organic compounds normally derived from ''Chrysanthemum cinerariifolium'' that have potent Insecticide, insecticidal activity by targeting the nervous systems of insects. Pyrethrin naturally occurs in chrysanthemum f ...

-containing insecticides such as

cyfluthrin Cyfluthrin is a pyrethroid insecticide and common household pesticide. It is a complex organic compound and the commercial product is sold as a mixture of isomers. Like most pyrethroids (MoA 3a), it is highly toxic to fish and invertebrates, but ...

or non-systemic organophosphate insecticides such as

malathion Malathion is an organophosphate insecticide which acts as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. In the USSR, it was known as carbophos, in New Zealand and Australia as maldison and in South Africa as mercaptothion. Pesticide use Malathion is a pesti ...

References

External links

{{Wikispecies, Acalymma
Cucumber Beetles.
Virginia Cooperative Extension Office.

Cass County Extension Office.

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures website. Chrysomelidae Agricultural pest insects Insect common names