Cucumber beetle | Description, Insect, Examples, Pests, & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

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Also known as: Diabrotica

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cucumber beetle, any of several species of leaf beetles of the subfamily Galerucinae that are important pests. Cucumber beetles are greenish yellow in color, between 2.5 and 11 mm (up to 0.5 inch) long, and marked with black spots or stripes.

The striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum) has two black stripes on each wing cover (elytron), and the spotted cucumber beetle (D. undecimpunctata) has black spots on each wing cover. They both feed on garden plants, and their larvae feed on the roots. The green-colored D. longicornis eats corn pollen and silk; the root-feeding larvae are known as corn rootworms.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Melissa Petruzzello.