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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Long-horned and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) » Case-bearing Leaf Beetles (Cryptocephalinae) » Cryptocephalini » Pachybrachina » Scriptured Leaf Beetles (Pachybrachis)

Genus Pachybrachis - Scriptured Leaf Beetles

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Print References · Works Cited

tiny Casebearer with giant eyes - Pachybrachis

Pachybrachis thoracicus Jacoby - Pachybrachis thoracicus

chrysomelid from Ceratiola ericoides - Pachybrachis

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 Cryptocephalinae (Case-bearing Leaf Beetles)

Tribe Cryptocephalini

Subtribe Pachybrachina

Genus Pachybrachis (Scriptured Leaf Beetles)

Other Common Names

Girdled Leaf Beetle (P. circumcinctus)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

=Pachybrachys (misspelling)

Numbers

Over 150 spp. in our area; many more to the south and in the Palaearctic(1)

Size

2-6 mm

Identification

Small, subcylindrical; pronotum margined at base, w/o lateral grooves for antennae; profemora thicker than metafemora; claws simple(2); most species are difficult to separate without dissection(1)

last revised by Fall (1915) who did a remarkably thorough job(1)

Range

Throughout NA but much more diverse in the south and the drier western/southwestern areas(1)

Habitat

Adults frequent flowers(3)

Season

Typically seen late spring and early summer (Apr-Jul in NC, May-Jul in MN)

Food

foliage of a variety of plants, including trees such as hickory, willow; adults also reported to eat pollen

Life Cycle

Larvae are case-bearing, often gregarious. Pupae are attached to stems and leaves with no cocoons. Typically adults emerge in late summer and overwinter. They disperse in spring or late summer.

Print References

Fall H.C. (1915) A revision of the North American species of Pachybrachys. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 41: 291–486 (Full text)

Works Cited

1.	American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea By Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.)

2.	A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America By Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence

3.	National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders By Lorus and Margery Milne

Contributed by Cotinis on 26 October, 2005 - 6:55am
Additional contributions by john and jane balaban, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 23 April, 2012 - 4:01pm

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