PEST PROFILES: BEETLES

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Twelve Spotted Cucumber Beetle Banded Cucumber Beetle Click on image to view larger.

Cucumber beetles Description: Striped cucumber beetles are about 1/5 inch long with black heads and wings striped with yellow and black. Spotted cucumber beetles are about 1/4 inch long with black heads and black legs with a yellowish-green body and wing covers with 12 distinct black spots. The larval stages of both species live in the soil and feed on the underground parts of plants. Damage: Adult beetles feed on leaves and flowers of some plants and larvae feed on roots of many plant species. Life cycle: Adult beetles overwinter and become active in the spring, feeding on a wide variety of host plants including weeds and grasses. They oviposit eggs in the soil. Eggs hatch in 5 to 11 days and young larvae crawl through the soil and feed on roots of corn, sorghum or other plant hosts. Larvae develop through 3 instars in 10 to 16 days before pupating and then emerge as adults after 5 to 12 days. Development takes 20 to 39 days, depending on soil temperature.