Hobbies And Interests
Early Spring
Spotted cucumber beetles begin attacking plants early in the growing season, devouring the stems and leaves of many vegetable crops. They are especially damaging to young shoots and are capable of killing more-mature plants by girdling them, damaging the water uptake tissue near the outside of the stem around the entire base of the plant. Spotted cucumber beetles typically emerge near the end of the frost season, which gives them a much longer active season in warmer southern areas.
Late Spring
Spotted cucumber beetles begin laying eggs between late April and early June, depending on the climate. They lay eggs in groups near the root systems of the same vegetable plants commonly fed upon by adults, in addition to corn and bean plants. The eggs hatch within one week to produce larvae. The larvae are grublike in appearance, possessing six underdeveloped legs and a soft extended body.
Midsummer
The larvae feed on the roots of vegetable plants for two to four weeks before emerging as adults between late June and early July. These adults begin feeding on their host plants, devouring blossoms and eating holes in developing and mature vegetables. In most climates, this new generation of adults will lay additional groups of eggs, which will produce a second generation of adult beetles by late August to early September.
Fall
As the weather begins to cool in September and early October, the spotted cucumber beetle will seek shelter in ground litter and shallow underground burrows. The beetles born the previous summer will die off throughout the summer and early fall, and will not survive to see the next spring. In some warmer climates, a third generation of eggs will be laid, with the larvae remaining dormant underground over the winter to emerge the following spring.