cereal leaf beetle

American  

noun

1. an Old World leaf beetle, Oulema melanopus, introduced into North America in 1962: a serious pest of small grains, especially oats and cereal grasses.

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Etymology

Origin of cereal leaf beetle

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cereal leaf beetle

Sanford Eigenbrode, an entomologist at the University of Idaho in Moscow, is studying parasitic wasps that attack the cereal leaf beetle, a pest of wheat throughout the northwestern United States.

From Nature ● Sep. 25, 2013