Squash Ladybug

(Epilachna chrysomelina), a beetle of the family Coccinellidae. The body is 7 to 9 mm long and is hemispherical. The elytra are yellowish-red, and each has six round black spots. The squash ladybug is distributed in Asia, Africa, and southern Europe; in the USSR it is found in Middle Asia, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus. It damages cucumbers, melons, vegetable marrow, pumpkins, watermelons, and many weeds. There are two to three generations per year. The beetles hibernate in winter under vegetable remains. Both the beetles and the larvae cause damage; they skeletonize leaves from the undersides and gnaw the skin of fruits. Measures of combating the insect include destruction of weeds and treatment of the sowings with insecticides.