Colorado potato beetle

American  

noun

1. a black and yellow leaf beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata, originally of Colorado and neighboring states but now a common pest in all potato-growing regions of the U.S.

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Etymology

Origin of Colorado potato beetle

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

In turn, the bean plants protect potato buds from the Colorado potato beetle.

From Salon • May 30, 2022

The Colorado potato beetle and disease-spreading aphids have flourished with the changing climate, said Jim Dill, pest management specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 28, 2021

Garden pests are often highly specialized and named after their favorite food: cabbageworm, corn earworm, tomato hornworm, Colorado potato beetle, cucumber beetle, pea weevil, pepper maggot, Mexican bean beetle, and so on.

From Salon • Aug. 8, 2021

The corn rootworm, the Colorado potato beetle and soybean aphids all thrive best on the crops that give them their names.

From Washington Post • Mar. 2, 2016

Agriculture, carried on with irrigation, suffers from insect plagues like the Colorado potato beetle.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin