Cucumber beetle

Adults will attack the tender young growth of stems and leaves, and the buds and petals on mature specimens.

They also carry and spread the bacterial wilt organism Erwinia tracheiphila and the cucumber mosaic virus.

Eggs are laid in clusters on the undersides of host leaves and hatch into larvae 1⁄2 inch (13 mm) long.

Cucumber beetles can overwinter in crop fields or in compost or trash piles.

Eradication efforts may include manual removal, clearing cultivated areas of litter, debris, and infested plants, and application of pyrethrin-containing insecticides such as cyfluthrin or non-systemic organophosphate insecticides such as malathion.