Cacoscelis nigripennis

Cacoscelis nigripennis

Damages trees, gardens or crops. It damages Passiflora caerulea plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Cacoscelis nigripennis
Photo: RAP, CC BY

Adults are about 10 mm long, 4 to 5 mm wide, with a black body and a bright red head and thorax. They are native to South America and feed on Passiflora caerulea, where they can become a serious garden pest.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The beetle has a black body and a bright red head and thorax.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Adults measure about 10 mm in length and are 4 to 5 mm wide.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

It feeds on Passiflora caerulea and can become a major problem for the plant when present in large numbers.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Cacoscelis nigripennis originates from South America.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Cacoscelis nigripennis photo 2
Photo: Lucas Rubio, CC BY

Questions people ask

What plants does it damage?

It feeds on Passiflora caerulea and can cause serious damage to those plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Where is this beetle from?

It is native to South America.

Source: Wikipedia

Sources

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

Look it up elsewhere: iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

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.

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