Striped Cucumber Beetle

Found in agricultural fields, home gardens, and meadows where cucurbit plants (cucumbers, melons, squashes) are grown.

Adults feed on the leaves, flowers, and fruit of cucurbit plants; larvae feed on the roots of the same plants.

They exhibit a life cycle of complete metamorphosis; adults often overwinter in soil or leaf litter and emerge in spring to lay eggs at the base of host plants.

Significant agricultural pests that can cause severe crop damage and transmit bacterial wilt (Erwinia tracheiphila); they offer no significant benefits to humans or the ecosystem.