Larvae feed on the roots of corn and wild grasses. Adults feed on stems and leaves of squash/melon family plants as well as rose flowers and some other hosts including clover. There are two generations per year in North Carolina.

Adults are hard to catch, so you could spray the infested flowers and then remove the sprayed flowers that are open, to protect pollinators. A "house and garden" aerosol from the grocery store containing pyrethrins would be appropriate.

Thanks, Michael! Hmmm...I did plant melons, pumpkins and squash plants for the first time this year. That could be the reason I've had so many of these guys. And the darn melons etc. never set a single fruit to boot!

I'll look for something like that with pyrethrins in it. I hate spraying for insects ever but I'm afraid if I don't try and control these guys somehow they're going to produce a bumper crop of eggs for next year too!

Thanks Seil for the alert, I google "cucumber beetle" and saw they are the same guys which I spotted at the rose parks.

I get them every year just as the corn is ready to be harvested. As soon as the combines roll out into the fields, it gets 10 times worse. They are everywhere and they are so fast & slippery that I only catch & squish about 30% of my targets.

If it's any consolation, as bas as they are, they don't seem to be damaging things too badly. I see holes in petals and bug poo in the blooms, but that's about it. On the other hand, if you have a show coming up you'll be forced to do something about them.

September's adults will overwinter in mulch or fallen leaves, then come out in early spring to feed, mate, and lay eggs.

I confess to not following my own advice about the aerosol, not since ten years ago, but it is a low-impact procedure. Another tactic you can try is grabbing a whole flower that has beetles in it, ripping it off, and stuffing it in a bag.

Do they do any damage? I've had them for years and I just ignore them.

Terry,
All I've seen are dime-to-quarter sized holes at the base of petals. It's not a through & through hole like a gunshot; they seem to prefer resting between the first & second rows of petals. I spent Sunday afternoon out in the garden after I made that post and it was horribly thick with them. I gave up the fight. Each bloom had between 5 and 10 beetles, and as fast as I was killing them, they were flying into my head, arms, and legs. Mostly they just annoy the heck out of me. They're pretty indiscriminate also--they don't read the rose tags and they're apparently color blind.

Seil I am seeing those darn things too for the first time. As the same as you I planted watermelon for the 1st time ever this year and I just have a few beetles and only a few roses blooming I just shake the bloom a bit and they crawl out but now I will just start squishing.

I'm still seeing them. They don't seem to do any damage to the leaves (well, what leaves I have left after the BS, lol) but they do chew pretty good sized holes in the bloom petals. I haven't seen any thing quarter sized but some dime size holes for sure. Sigh...just what I need...another d*$t bug!