Western Striped Cucumber Beetle (Acalymma trivittatum)

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Beetle Taxonomy

Acalymma trivittatum - Bug Guide
Acalymma vittatum - U. Florida "Featured Creatures"

This western striped cucumber beetle was appropriately sitting on a cucumber leaf on June 18, 2019, when my cucumber plants were in full production. The adults overwinter beneath organic matter near where cucurbits (cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, etc.) were grown in the previous year. Once temperatures rise above 55 degrees in the Spring, they forage for replacement foods in the absence of cucurbits (in my yard this might be asters or other species in the sunflower family). Once cucurbits appear in the area, the adults form large groups on the plants to mate, then lay their eggs at the base of the plants. The larva stay underground, feeding on cucurbit roots, only coming back above ground as adults the following Spring.