The spotted cucumber beetle is a major agricultural pest insect of North America (see also cucumber beetle). In the adult form, it eats and damages leaves of many crops, including cucumbers, soybeans, cotton, beans, and many others. In the larval form, which is known as the southern corn rootworm, it tunnels through the roots of young plants, stunting or killing them. These native pests have a wide range of host plants, but will readily infest a field of crop plants, most notoriously corn.

Adult beetles are greenish-yellow with six large black spots on each elytron. They are about 0.5 cm long. The larvae are yellowish and wormlike.