Checkered Melon Beetle

Paranapiacaba tricincta · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Chrysomelidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Checkered Melon Beetle
Photo: Ken-ichi Ueda, CC BY

The checkered melon beetle is a leaf-beetle that skeletonizes foliage. It occurs in both Central America and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Its range includes Central America and North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 8 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, California, Oklahoma, Kansas.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Checkered Melon Beetle photo 3
Photo: CK2AZ, CC BY
Checkered Melon Beetle photo 4
Photo: Russell Pfau, CC BY
Checkered Melon Beetle photo 5
Photo: F. LaBry, CC BY
Checkered Melon Beetle photo 6
Photo: Catherine C. Galley, CC BY

Same family (Chrysomelidae)

Spotted Cucumber BeetleSpotted Cucumber BeetleDiabrotica undecimpunctataDamages trees, gardens or cropsBean WeevilBean WeevilAcanthoscelides obtectusDamages trees, gardens or cropsCowpea WeevilCowpea WeevilCallosobruchus maculatusDamages trees, gardens or cropsSwamp Milkweed Leaf BeetleSwamp Milkweed Leaf BeetleLabidomera clivicollisDamages trees, gardens or cropsAlder Leaf BeetleAlder Leaf BeetleAgelastica alniDamages trees, gardens or cropsDogbane Leaf BeetleDogbane Leaf BeetleChrysochus auratus

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranapiacaba_tricincta

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.