tortoise beetle: Meaning and Definition of

tor'toise bee"tle

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. any of several turtle-shaped leaf beetles, as Chelymorpha cassidea (argus tortoise beetle or milkweed tortoise beetle), which resembles the ladybird beetle and feeds primarily on bindweed and milkweed.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.