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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) » Criocerinae » Criocerini » Crioceris » Asparagus Beetle (Crioceris asparagi)

Species Crioceris asparagi - Asparagus Beetle

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited

Asparagus Beetle - Crioceris asparagi - male - female

Asparagus Beetle larva 2 - Crioceris asparagi

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)

Superfamily Chrysomeloidea (Longhorn and Leaf Beetles)

Family Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetles)

Subfamily Criocerinae

Tribe Criocerini

Genus Crioceris

Species asparagi (Asparagus Beetle)

Other Common Names

Common Asparagus Beetle (1)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Crioceris asparagi (Linnaeus)

Orig. Comb: Chrysomela asparagi Linnaeus 1758

Identification

Smooth, shiny, slightly elongated. Has metallic blue head and bluish-black elytra, each with three yellowish, squared spots and a red outer margin. Thorax is reddish with two small blue spots.

Distinctive but highly variable

Range

adventive, widespread in N. America (NB-BC to GA-CA)(2)

Native to w. Palaearctic (Spain to C. Asia)(3)

Food

Asparagus officinalis (Liliaceae)(4)

Life Cycle

Overwinter as adults. Emerge in early spring. Eggs are elongate, dark brown in color, and attached by one end to the host plant. They hatch in 3 to 8 days, larvae feed for 10 to 14 days. Pupate in silken cocoons in chambers in the soil. They take 5 to 10 days.

Eggs, several larval instars

Remarks

earliest record in our area: NY 1862(1)

Internet References

Beetles in the UK

Oklahoma U.

Wikipedia

Works Cited

1.	Introduced Leaf Beetles of the Maritime Provinces, 6: The Common Asparagus Beetle... and the Twelve-Spotted Asparagus Beetle... LeSage, L., E.J. Dobesberger, and C.G. Majka. 2008. Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 110(3):602-621.

2.	Catalog of Leaf Beetles of America North of Mexico Ed Riley, Shawn Clark, and Terry Seeno. 2003. Coleopterists Society.

3.	Borowiec L. (200_-2013) Chrysomelidae: The leaf beetles of Europe and the Mediterranean subregion (checklist and iconography)

4.	Host plants of leaf beetle species occurring in the United States and Canada Clark et al. 2004. Coleopterists Society, Special Publication no. 2, 476 pp.

Contributed by Mike Quinn on 21 January, 2006 - 2:19pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, v belov
Last updated 6 November, 2016 - 9:17am

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