The Twelve-spotted Asparagus Beetle

(Crioceris 12-punctata Linn)



The presence of this insect in America was first detected in 1881, and

it is still much rarer and consequently less injurious than the

preceding species. In Europe, where it is apparently native, it is

common but not especially destructive. The chief source of damage from

this species is from the work of the hibernated beetles in early spring

upon the young and edible asparagus shoots. Later beetles as well as

larvae appear to feed exclusively upon the berries. The eggs are

deposited singly, and apparently by preference, upon old plants toward

the end of shoots, which, lower down, bear ripening berries, and they

are attached along their sides instead of at one end, as in the case

with the eggs of the common species. Soon after the larva hatches from

the egg it finds its way to an asparagus berry, enters it, and feeds

upon the pulp. In due time it leaves the first berry for another one,

and when full growth is attained it deserts its last larval habitation

and enters the earth, where it transforms to pupa and afterward to the

adult beetle. The life cycle does not differ materially from that of the

common species, and there are probably the same or nearly as many

generations developed.





This species is at present distributed throughout the asparagus-growing

country of New Jersey, particularly in the vicinity of the Delaware

River, the whole of Delaware, nearly the entire state of Maryland, the

District of Columbia, the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania bordering

the state line of New Jersey, northeastern Virginia in the vicinity of

the western shore of the Potomac River, Staten Island, and Monroe

County, N. Y., the last mentioned being the most northern locality known

for the species. The mature beetle in life rivals the common asparagus

beetle in beauty, but may be distinguished by its much broader wing

covers and its color. The ground color is orange red, each wing cover is

marked with six black dots, and the knees and a portion of the under

surface of the thorax are also marked with black, as seen in Fig. 45,

a. The beetle as it appears on the plant when in fruit very closely

resembles, at a little distance, a ripe asparagus berry. The full-grown

larva is shown in Fig. 45, b. It measures, when extended,

three-tenths of an inch, being of about the same proportions as the

larva of the common species, but is readily separable by its ochraceous

orange color. Fig. 45, c, shows the second abdominal segment of larva,

and d same of the common asparagus beetle, much enlarged.



Remedies.--The remedies are those indicated for the common asparagus

beetle, with the possible exception of caustic lime and other measures

that are directed solely against that species, but the habit of the

larva of living within the berry places it for that period beyond the

reach of insecticides. The collection and destruction of the asparagus

berries before ripening might be a solution of the problem, but it is

questionable if recourse to this measure would be necessary, save in

cases of an exceptional abundance of the insect.