Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
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Insects (Insecta)
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Beetles (Coleoptera)
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Polyphaga
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Series Cucujiformia
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Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea)
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Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae)
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Skeletonizing Leaf Beetles and Flea Beetles (Galerucinae)
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Galerucini
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Section Atysites
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Diorhabda
Genus
Diorhabda
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia (Animals)
Phylum
Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum
Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class
Insecta (Insects)
Order
Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder
Polyphaga
No Taxon
(Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily
Chrysomeloidea (Longhorn and Leaf Beetles)
Family
Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetles)
Subfamily
Galerucinae (Skeletonizing Leaf Beetles and Flea Beetles)
Tribe
Galerucini
No Taxon
(Section Atysites)
Genus
Diorhabda
Other Common Names
Saltcedar Leaf Beetle
(
1
)
, Tamarisk Beetle
Explanation of Names
Diorhabda
Weise 1883
Numbers
5 spp. in our area (4 spp. intentionally introduced to control tamarisk +
D. meridionalis
)
(
2
)
, 16 total
Range
native to drier regions of the Palaearctic
(
2
)
from the Mediterranean to w. China; introduced in sw./w. US
(
3
)
(
1
)
Food
Larvae and adults feed exclusively on species of saltcedar (genus
Tamarix
).
Remarks
Introduced to control invasive shrubs of the genus
Tamarix
(
3
)
species in our area are
D. elongata, D. carinata, D. sublineata, D. carinulata
and
D. meridionalis
, all members of the
D. elongata
species group
(
2
)
D. elongata
sensu stricto is Mediterranean, "w. China & e. Kazakhstan" cited in
(
1
)
is in error; the species ranging into w. China is
D. carinulata
(
2
)
Internet References
D. carinulata
life cycle
Works Cited
1.
Biological control for weeds in Texas
2.
Taxonomic revision and biogeography of the Tamarix-feeding Diorhabda elongata (Brullé, 1832) species group...
Tracy J.L., Robbins T.O. 2009. Zootaxa 2101, 152 pp.
3.
American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
Contributed by
v belov
on 15 June, 2009 - 8:56am
Additional contributions by
Mike Quinn
,
Aaron Schusteff
Last updated 7 October, 2021 - 6:48pm