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Species Charidotella sexpunctata - Golden Tortoise Beetle

Golden Tortoise Beetle - Charidotella sexpunctata Golden tortoise beetle larva - Charidotella sexpunctata Golden Tortoise Beetle - Charidotella sexpunctata Golden Tortoise Beetle - Charidotella sexpunctata Golden Tortoise Beetle - Charidotella sexpunctata - Charidotella sexpunctata - male - female Cassidinae on bindweed. Pupa - Charidotella sexpunctata Cassidinae on bindweed. A day later - Charidotella sexpunctata Golden Tortoise Beetle Larva? - Charidotella sexpunctata
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 Charidotella
Species sexpunctata (Golden Tortoise Beetle)
Other Common Names
Sweet Potato Leaf Beetle
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Charidotella bicolor; formerly Metriona bicolor; (bicolor is considered a subspecies of Charidotella sexpunctata in Borowiec's World Catalog of the Cassidinae)
Explanation of Names
SEXPUNCTATA: "six-dotted" - when spots are present on the elytra, there are often six of them, three on each elytron
Size
5-7 mm
Identification
Overall golden-orange or golden-yellow color, with or without black spots on the elytra. Legs mostly yellow, body oval or almost circular-shaped, elytral margins transparent, elytra and pronotum highly reflective (shiny) in living specimens. See Auburn site (listed under Metriona bicolor) for detailed description.
Information here suggests that adults change color when disturbed (Texas A&M U.), and this page explains that the beetles can alternately develop/lose their black spots within a matter of hours (ashlandinternet.com).
Larvae carry a fecal shield over their bodies.
Range
eastern US and southeastern Canada (plus California when the subspecies aurisplendens is included)
Food
Eats leaves of plants in the Convolvulaceae (Morning Glory family)
Life Cycle
Remarks
Golden Tortoise Beetles found in the eastern US are either subspecies bicolor (which is the most widespread), or some other subspecies, depending on location: marylandica is found in Maryland, aurichalcea and pallida are found in the Carolinas, and floridana is found in Florida in the Miami, Orange Grove, and Tampa areas. No information could be found on the Internet describing how to distinguish these subspecies.
All individuals of Charidotella sexpunctata found in Canada are subspecies bicolor.
See Also
Black-legged Tortoise Beetle (Jonthonota nigripes) also has 3 black spots on each elytron and overall orange color but is larger (8-9 mm), has mostly black legs, a more oblong shape, a duller surface, and elytral margins are opaque or translucent - not transparent.
Print References
World Catalog of the Cassidinae by Lech Borowiec, University of Wroclaw, Poland, 1999.
Internet References
taxonomic history plus synonyms, host plants, subspecies, and distribution (Cassidinae of the World)
preserved adult images (Cassidinae of the World).
adult images (Insects of Quebec)
distribution in Canada - PDF doc (Chrysomelidae, in: Checklist of the Beetles of Canada & Alaska)