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.

---

Etymology

Origin of asparagus beetle

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

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.

In some localities the asparagus beetle destroys whole plantations.

From The Home Acre by Roe, Edward Payson

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.

After learning to control the asparagus beetle we were visited by the rust, which has proved a stubborn foe and absorbs the sap which ought to go to the growing plant.

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.