cucumber beetle

any leaf beetle of the genus Diabrotica and related genera that feeds on cucumbers and other plants of the gourd family and is a vector of cucurbit wilt.

[1835-45, Amer.]

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Any of several leaf beetles (genus Diabrotica) that are important pests.

They are greenish yellow, marked with black spots or stripes, and 0.1–0.5 in. (2.5–11 mm) long. The striped cucumber beetle and spotted cucumber beetle both feed on garden plants, and their larvae feed on the roots.

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▪ Diabrotica genus

 any of several important pests of the genus Diabrotica belonging to the subfamily Galerucinae of the leaf beetle family Chrysomelidae (order Coleoptera). They are greenish yellow in colour, between 2.5 and 11 mm (up to 0.5 inch) long, and marked with black spots or stripes.

      The striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittata) 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-coloured D. longicornis eats corn pollen and silk; the root-feeding larvae are known as corn rootworms.

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