''Aulacophora foveicollis'', the red pumpkin beetle, is a species of beetle in the family

Chrysomelidae The beetle family Chrysomelidae, commonly known as leaf beetles, includes over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making it one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families. Numerous s ...

. It is a foliar pest of members of the

Cucurbitaceae The Cucurbitaceae (), also called cucurbits or the gourd family, are a plant family (biology), family consisting of about 965 species in 101 genera.

, particularly the

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

. It is also a pest of

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

s in India.

Description

The adult ''Aulacophora foveicollis'' measures in length and about in breadth. The colour of the

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

varies from pale orange-yellow to bright orange-red to medium brown, and the abdomen is black with soft white hairs. The grubs are found in the soil and are slender and creamy-yellow, with pale brown heads and prothorax.

Distribution

''A. foveicollis'' has a wide distribution across southern Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. It is a serious pest of cucurbit crops in northwestern India.

Life cycle

In northern India, the beetles hibernate over winter, emerging in March. After mating the female lays batches of about eight eggs in the soil. The eggs are orange and oval and hatch in one to two weeks. The grubs at first feed on leaf debris, roots and parts of the host plant in contact with the soil. They pass through four moults as they grow, and

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

te in earthen chambers just below the surface of the soil. After a further week to two and a half weeks, the adult beetles emerge, climb the host plant and start feeding. The females start laying eggs within a week or so. There may be five generations over the course of the summer.

Biology

The beetles are most destructive in March and April while the plants are small. They feed on the leaves, buds and flowers and can defoliate the plants; the grubs bore into the roots and damage the stems and fruits that lie on the soil. ''A. foveicollis'' favours

(''Cucurbita maxima'') over other curcurbit crops, but will also feed on

squash Squash most often refers to: * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (plant), the fruit of vines of the genus ''Cucurbita'' Squash may also refer to: Sports * Squash (professional wrestling), an extr ...

(''Cucurbita pepo''),

melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

(''Cucumis melo''),

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

(''Citrullus lanatus'') and the sponge gourd (''Luffa aegyptiaca''). There are

extrafloral nectaries Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists, ...

on the sponge gourd which attract ants. The dominant species of ant in India and much of southeastern Asia is ''

Camponotus compressus ''Camponotus compressus'' is a type of ground-nesting species of ant found in India and Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the r ...

'', and the presence of ants on the crop plant has a deterrent effect on ''A. foveicollis''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q25096300, from2=Q2109636 foveicollis Agricultural pest insects Insect pests of millets Beetles described in 1849 Taxa named by Hippolyte Lucas Beetles of Europe Beetles of Asia Beetles of Australia Beetles of Africa