I found this yellow black spotted Cucumber Beetle while scouting the yard yesterday foraging in one of the Hibiscus flowers along the fence and I brought it in for a focus stacking session.
Here's what I have learned about why they are considered to be a such a destructive pest:
"Striped and spotted cucumber beetles can cause serious losses in cucumbers, muskmelons, and watermelons. Cucumber beetles are a major concern to muskmelon and cucumber growers because they vector the bacteria that causes a disease, bacterial wilt of cucurbits.
While the adults feed mainly on foliage, pollen and flowers, their feeding on melon rinds late in the season may reduce market quality. Larvae of these insects feed on roots and stems, but this damage is minimal compared to the potential losses due to bacterial wilt. The spotted cucumber beetle are also known as the southern corn rootworm."
sippyjug104 wrote:
I found this yellow black spotted Cucumber Beetle while scouting the yard yesterday foraging in one of the Hibiscus flowers along the fence and I brought it in for a focus stacking session.
Here's what I have learned about why they are considered to be a such a destructive pest:
"Striped and spotted cucumber beetles can cause serious losses in cucumbers, muskmelons, and watermelons. Cucumber beetles are a major concern to muskmelon and cucumber growers because they vector the bacteria that causes a disease, bacterial wilt of cucurbits.
While the adults feed mainly on foliage, pollen and flowers, their feeding on melon rinds late in the season may reduce market quality. Larvae of these insects feed on roots and stems, but this damage is minimal compared to the potential losses due to bacterial wilt. The spotted cucumber beetle are also known as the southern corn rootworm."
I found this yellow black spotted Cucumber Beetle ... (
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I like it. Great Beetle image!
Awesome, sippy. One of my favorites that you have done.
PixelStan77 wrote:
I like it. Great Beetle image!
Thanks for viewing and for the feedback.
kpmac wrote:
Awesome, sippy. One of my favorites that you have done.
Thanks, Kpmac. I suspect that you fellows grow a lot of melons and cucumbers down there so these buggers would be a real pest to the agriculture down there.
That is a very compelling picture. Great commentary too. Well done!
Mark Sturtevant wrote:
That is a very compelling picture. Great commentary too. Well done!
Thanks, Mark. I know very little about entomology other than chiggers itch and ticks suck (and I'm pretty good at swatting flies too). To make up for that void, I read and study and I share what I find at times along with my images for I find them both to be quite fascinating and perhaps there may be someone like me who wants to know a bit more. Of course I have taken notes of your educational posts which I always learn a lot from.
Very nice. One of these landed on my hand and my cousin took a picture of it with her cell phone but I didn't know what it was until now.
That's a beauty! Looks like you got all of him in focus - great work!
JRiepe wrote:
Very nice. One of these landed on my hand and my cousin took a picture of it with her cell phone but I didn't know what it was until now.
Thanks, the adults are a bright yellow and they look quite cute (to their mother I'm sure). The adults are harmless although they do munch on flowers. They do aide in pollination although mostly accidently by crawling around as they munch away. Their larvae however are a totally different situation and are bad news to produce growers.
Thanks for dropping by and for the reply.
ecobin wrote:
That's a beauty! Looks like you got all of him in focus - great work!
Thanks, Elliott. I appreciate your viewing my posts and for the feedback.
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