Species Deloyala guttata - Mottled Tortoise Beetle

Classification · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited

Mottled Tortoise Beetle - Deloyala guttata

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)

Superfamily Chrysomeloidea (Long-horned and Leaf Beetles)

Family Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetles)

Subfamily Cassidinae (Tortoise Beetles and the Hispines)

Tribe Cassidini (Tortoise Beetles)

Genus Deloyala

Species guttata (Mottled Tortoise Beetle)

Size

about 5 mm

Identification

adult: broadly oval; margins of pronotum and elytra clear or golden, elytra usually mottled black and yellow but can vary from completely orangish-yellow to completely black (see color/pattern variation in 7 images on 3 pages)

larva: dull green, bluish along back, covered with broad branching masses of excrement

Range

southern Canada & the US east of the Rockies, south to Venezuela, West Indies (1)(2)

Habitat

fields, meadows, gardens, lawns & yards

Season

adults active from spring through fall

Food

larvae and adults feed on leaves of Convolvulaceae (morning glory family) (3)

Life Cycle

overwinters as adult beneath leaf litter; multiple generations per year, the number varies with latitude

Remarks

tested for biocontrol of Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis)(4)

Internet References

species page(5)

Fact sheet(4)

Works Cited

1.	Catalog of Leaf Beetles of America North of Mexico By Ed Riley, Shawn Clark, and Terry Seeno

2.	Annotated list of the leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of Kentucky: Subfamily Cassidinae By R.J. Barney, S.M. Clark, E.G. Riley

3.	Host Plants of Leaf Beetle Species Occuring in the United States and Canada By Shawn Clark, Douglas LeDoux, Terry Seeno, Edward Riley, Arthur Gilbert, and James Sullivan. 2004.

4.	Invasive plants with biocontrol -- BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

5.	Cassidinae of the world - an interactive manual (by Lech Borowiec and Jolanta Świętojańska)

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 24 March, 2005 - 5:19pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 15 March, 2012 - 2:27am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2012 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version