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Classification:

Crioceris duodecimpunctata belongs to the subfamily Criocerinae, tribe Criocerini.

Distribution:

Europe (except far north); Asia Minor; east to East Asia; introduced into North America.

Habitat:

Open, sunny biotopes with asparagus plants.

Description:

Length 5 - 6.5 mm; elytra clearly less than twice as long as broad together, orange red with 6 black spots each; pronotum monochrome orange red; head monochrome red or the space between the eye and the outer forehead furrow as well as the upper lip and the tip of the jaw black.

Biology:

The Spotted Asparagus Beetle Crioceris duodecimpunctata flies in two generations from April to October.
The species lives monophagously on garden asparagus (Asparagus officinalis), in the Mediterranean region also on some other Asparagus species.
Crioceris duodecimpunctata hibernates as adult. The females start laying eggs at the beginning of June. The eggs are individually attached to leaf shoots and stems. The larvae hatch after 5 - 12 days and feed on the leaf tips and on the skin of the shoots. After 15 - 20 days the larvae pupate in the soil. 10 - 20 days later the 1st beetle generation hatches and reproduces. The larvae of the next generation bore into the berries and eat them. The imagines hatch in September and hibernate mostly in foliage or grass.

References, further reading, links:

1. Rheinheimer, Joachim, & Hassler, Michael: Die Blattkäfer Baden-Württembergs, 2018, 928 pages, Kleinsteuber Books (Karlsruhe), ISBN 978-3-9818110-2-5
2. Arved Lompe: Die Käfer Europas - Ein Bestimmungswerk im Internet