TUBER VEGETABLES ::MINOR PESTS:: SPINY BEETLE

Spiny beetle: Oncocephala tuberculata (Hispidae: Coleoptera)
It occurs commonly in South India. Adult is a small brownish, hispine beetle with blunt projections all over body. It has a life up to 50 days. Eggs are thrust inside leaf tissues. Larva mines the leaf and causes it to wither. When full grown, it constructs a short tunnel in a healthy leaf in which it pupates. Eggs, larval and pupal stages last for 7-10, 17-23,and 8-15 days respectively. Adult also injures the leaves by feeding on them.