Acalymma vittatum
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Acalymma vittatum, the striped cucumber beetle, is a beetle of the family Chrysomelidae and a serious pest of cucurbit crops in both larval and adult stages. The striped cucumber beetle has a distinctive appearance, displaying a yellow-colored elytra with black stripes. It is distributed from eastern North America to the Rocky Mountains and can be found as far south as Mexico and as far North as southern Canada. In western North America, past the Rocky Mountains, the striped cucumber beetle is replaced by Acalymma trivittatum, a duller colored species often with grayish or pale white elytra rather than yellow.
The striped cucumber beetle is unique in that it is resistant to a chemical, cucurbitacin, that is found in plants and serves as a defense mechanism against herbivores. In fact, the striped cucumber beetles are drawn towards this chemical; this is an example of coevolution, where one species evolves a phenotype against a defensive phenotype of another. The reason they are called the striped cucumber beetle is because they are found commonly in cucurbit plants, like cucumbers.
Male striped cucumber beetles also release pheromones that cause aggregation of other striped cucumber beetles to the site of feeding. This creates opportunities for the males to mate with females. Due to the striped cucumber beetle's detrimental effect on cucurbit crops, such as cucumbers and pumpkins, many management methods have been developed to curb striped beetle populations in the early spring to reduce the negative impact on farmers. Some examples include biological control agents and strategies involving bait crops. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Lyon | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Striped Cucumber Beetle sighting in Cévennes National Park on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 814th most-seen of the 996 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Striped Cucumber Beetle in Cévennes National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July to May, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Striped Cucumber Beetle sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Striped Cucumber Beetle sightings, Cévennes National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Acadia National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Chrysomelidae
The closest relatives of the Striped Cucumber Beetle that you can see in Cévennes National Park (family Chrysomelidae, Leaf Beetles) are Daffodil Leaf-Beetle (about 20%), Bloody-Nosed Beetle (about 20%) and Elm Leaf Beetle (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Striped Cucumber Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Cévennes National Park (6 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
