so beautiful bugs-10: 쭐쭐이와 땡땡이

여느 한국집 뒷마당에 흔이 심고 먹는 야채로는 부추, 깬닢, 파, 고추, 호박 (squash), 오이등을 들 수 있겠다.
근데, 쫌 가꿔서 맛 나게 먹을려는 '한여름밤의 꿈'은 종종 nightmare로 변하는데, 여러 야생동물과 나쁜(?) 곤충들이 그 주범이라...

게중 어떤 놈들은 '천사의 탈'을 쓰고 있는데 (look innocent), 예로  striped cucumber beetles (we called them 쭐쭐이)와 spotted cucumber beetles (땡땡이)를 봅시다.

Click to enlarge. (Sunday, Aug. 7, 2011)

The above photo was taken in the morning when the flower was wide open.  Luckily I found one 호박꽃 that has both 쭐쭐이 & 땡땡이. As you can see in the photo, they have characteristic stripes or dots on the back (= elytra), thus they are named.  These beetles are medium-sized (0.5-1 cm long).
Although they don't look so threatening, they transmit bacterial pathogens, which infect and cause wilting (and eventual death) of plants.  Particular host plants are cucumbers and squashes, ㅠㅠ.  More info can be found in many websites (e.g., http://www.ghorganics.com/CucumberBeetles.htm)

혹 이런놈들 보이면 그저 손으로 잡아 없에는게 (manual insecticide) 맛있는 건강 여름 밥상을 위해 상책일듯...  No mercy!!  몇마리 잡아없엔다고 이넘들이 멸종될 가능성은 거의 zero...

Pros of the manual insecticide:
1. no harmful chemical in your food (real organic).
2. you have a chance to observe the nature.

=°|°=

They belong to Order Coleoptera: Family Chrysomelidae.