asparagus beetle

American  

noun

1. either of two leaf beetles of the genus Crioceris that feed on the asparagus plant in both the larval and adult stages.

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Etymology

Origin of asparagus beetle

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

asparagus beetle

Mr. Smeath is stuck to her back like an asparagus beetle, grinning like a maniac; both of them have shiny brown insect wings, done to scale and meticulously painted.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood

Asparagus was free from pests until 1889, when the asparagus beetle made its unwelcome appearance.

From Asparagus, its culture for home use and for market: a practical treatise on the planting, cultivation, harvesting, marketing, and preserving of asparagus, with notes on its history by Hexamer, F. M.

Look out for the asparagus beetle during April and May, for these are the months when it appears.

From The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. by Shaw, Ellen Eddy

For green asparagus the ridges are left lower, and the shoots are allowed to grow several inches above the ground before cutting, provided the asparagus beetle does not appropriate them sooner.

From Asparagus, its culture for home use and for market: a practical treatise on the planting, cultivation, harvesting, marketing, and preserving of asparagus, with notes on its history by Hexamer, F. M.

The common asparagus beetle has very efficient checks in the shape of predaceous insects, which prey upon its larvæ and assist in preventing its undue increase.

From Asparagus, its culture for home use and for market: a practical treatise on the planting, cultivation, harvesting, marketing, and preserving of asparagus, with notes on its history by Hexamer, F. M.