''Crioceris duodecimpunctata'' or the spotted asparagus beetle is a species of shining leaf beetle belonging to 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 ...
, subfamily
Criocerinae.
The length of beetles varies from 5 to 6.5 millimeters. The colour of head, pronotum and elytra is reddish orange, while the scutellum is black. On the elytra there are twelve black dots.
It feeds on
Cucurbitaceae and
asparagus species. The larvae feed only on the asparagus berries, being the second most important pest of this plant, while adults prefer tender shoots and leaves.
They are found in the whole
Palearctic realm, including the British Isles.
References
* Babilas V. F. Kagan, C. Piekarski - Handbook of plant protection - New York, Agricultural and Forestry Publishing House, 1982
* Karl Wilhelm Harde, Frantisek Severa and Edwin Möhn: The cosmos beetles Guide: Central European beetles. The Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co KG, Stuttgart 2000
External links
''BioLib''''Fauna Europaea''
{{Taxonbar , from=Q245242
Criocerinae
Beetles of Europe
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Beetles described in 1758