Insect identification > Coleoptera > True Coleoptera > Spotted asparagus beetle

Spotted asparagus beetle

The spotted asparagus beetle (Crioceris duodecimpunctata L.). - This insect arrived in this country from Europe about 1881 and was first discovered near Baltimore, Md. Though beginning its work here more than 20 years later than the other species, it is now widely distributed.

The adult beetle is slightly larger and broader in proportion to its length than the asparagus beetle. It is orange-red or brick red above except for 12 black dots on the elytra. The life history and habits do not seem to differ much from those of the other species except in the following features: The beetle appears to depend upon flight rather than upon dodging around the stems to escape its enemies; the egg is not attached by one end but by a side, to the plant; the larva feeds inside the berries and is orange to yellowish in color.

The hibernating insects feed on the young plants like the other species but the beetles of later generations feed on the berries.