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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) » Skeletonizing Leaf Beetles and Flea Beetles (Galerucinae) » Flea Beetles (Alticini) » Chaetocnema

Genus Chaetocnema

Chaetocnema protensa Flea Beetle Maybe ? - Chaetocnema Chrysomelidae 13 - Chaetocnema Chaetocnema denticulata (Illiger) - Chaetocnema denticulata micro beetle - Chaetocnema Chaetocnema? - Chaetocnema Beetle, dorsal - Chaetocnema Coleoptera. Chrysomelidae. Chaetocnema - Chaetocnema borealis
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 Alticini (Flea Beetles)
Genus Chaetocnema
Explanation of Names
Chaetocnema Stephens 1831
Numbers
~60 spp. in our area, ~450 total(1)
Size
1.1‒3.25 mm
Identification
Middle and hind tibiae with a blunt projection or tooth in the apical half, followed by an emargination. Among NA flea beetles, only Blepharida has similar tibiae (otherwise looks different).
Species ID usually impossible from photos.
Key to 5 spp. found in se. Canada in (2)
Range
worldwide
Habitat
open habitats; larvae subterranean
Food
hosts include plants of many families; in our area, Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Convolvulaceae, Combretaceae, Polygonaceae, and Malvaceae
larvae feed on underground parts
Remarks
commercial pests: C. confinis (Sweetpotato Flea Beetle), C. denticulata (Toothed Flea Beetle), C. ectypa (Desert Corn Flea Beetle), C. pulicaria (Corn Flea Beetle)(2), C. repens (Dichondra Flea Beetle)(3)
Works Cited
1.A revision of the genus Chaetocnema of America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
White R.E. 1996. Contr. Am. Ent. Inst. 29: 1-158.
2.Chaetocnema flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae, Alticini) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada
Majka C.G., LeSage L. 2010. Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society 6: 34-38.
3.Garden Insects of North America : The Ultimate Guide to Backyard Bugs (Princeton Field Guides)
Whitney Cranshaw. 2004. Princeton University Press.
Contributed by tom murray on 21 November, 2006 - 8:59pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, Boris Bueche, Ron M., v belov
Last updated 24 August, 2023 - 7:58pm

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