In western North America, past the Rocky Mountains, the striped cucumber beetle is replaced by Acalymma trivittatum, a duller colored species often with grayish or pale white elytra rather than yellow.

The striped cucumber beetle is unique in that it is resistant to a chemical, cucurbitacin, that is found in plants and serves as a defense mechanism against herbivores.

[3] Furthermore, the black stripes of western corn rootworm adults do not fully span across the entire elytra, but begin to fade off before it reaches the tip.

[5] This species is more limited in the western stretch of North America, including the states and provinces located west of the Rocky Mountains.

[6] While feeding on these cucurbits, the adult striped cucumber beetles are drawn toward the cotyledon, which is a portion of an embryo inside the seed of a plant.

[3] In Massachusetts, it was found that the cucumber striped beetle is attracted to several other chemicals emitted by cucurbits, including 1,2,4-trimethoxybenzene and indole, though not (E)-cinnamaldehyde.

[7] A. vittatum exhibits aggregation behavior during feeding and mating as adult beetles tend to group together on host plants, forming dense populations during the growing season.

Aggregation behavior may facilitate mate finding and increase efficiency in locating suitable food sources, contributing to the pest's reproductive success.

This gregarious feeding behavior may lead to significant damage to host plants, especially in the early stages of crop growth.

[10] After the adult beetles mate, the females will lay their eggs below the soil at the base of cucurbit plants (Eaton 2016).

Once the larvae develop, they will burrow down to feed on the roots of the cucurbit plant and then move back up to the surface as adults.

[3] Acalymma vittatum faces predation pressure from a variety of natural enemies, including insectivorous birds, predatory insects, and parasitoids which significantly reduced beetle abundance.

Parasitoid wasps such as Tetrastichus giffardianus have been identified as important natural enemies of A. vittatum larvae, parasitizing and suppressing beetle populations in cucurbit fields.

During the spring, when adult striped cucumber beetles appear from beneath their overwintering shelter, they start feeding on many types of plants including fruits, foliage, and flowers.

[3] Striped cucumber beetles can also cause damage to crops by transmitting the Erwinia tracheiphila bacteria to plants.

In the spring, once Striped cucumber beetles begin feeding, they can pass along this bacteria, which harms the plant by growing in its vascular system and blocking the flow of water and nutrients.

Previous studies have shown that striped cucumber beetles are most active in feeding during the morning and early evening.

[3] Farmers can also plant bait crops with high amounts of cucurbitacin on the perimeter of the field to attract striped cucumber beetles away from their main produce.