Crioceris duodecimpunctata or the spotted asparagus beetle is a species of shining leaf beetle belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Criocerinae.
| Crioceris duodecimpunctata | |
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| Dorsal view | |
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| Lateral view | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Chrysomelidae |
| Genus: | Crioceris |
| Species: | C. duodecimpunctata
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| Binomial name | |
| Crioceris duodecimpunctata | |
| Synonyms | |
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The length of beetles varies from 5 to 6.5 millimeters. The colour of head, pronotum and elytra is reddish orange, while the scutellum is black. On the elytra there are twelve black dots.
It feeds on Cucurbitaceae and asparagus species. The larvae feed only on the asparagus berries, being the second most important pest of this plant, while adults prefer tender shoots and leaves.
They are found in the whole Palearctic realm, including the British Isles.
References
edit- Babilas V. F. Kagan, C. Piekarski - Handbook of plant protection - New York, Agricultural and Forestry Publishing House, 1982
- Karl Wilhelm Harde, Frantisek Severa and Edwin Möhn: The cosmos beetles Guide: Central European beetles. The Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co KG, Stuttgart 2000