Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Subfamily Galerucinae - Skeletonizing Leaf Beetles and Flea Beetles

Monoxia beetle - Ophraella communa Omophoita cyanipennis octomaculata (Crotch) - Omophoita cyanipennis Asphaera lustrans (Crotch) - Asphaera lustrans Longitarsus Chrysomelidae - Altica torquata beetle - Phyllotreta western corn rootworm beetle? - Diabrotica virgifera
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)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
multiple evolutionary origins of jumping hindlegs in Galerucinae hinder morphological diagnosis of tribes; only the three-tribe arrangement is supported (Alticini, Galerucini and Serraticollini)(1)
Explanation of Names
Galerucinae Latreille 1802
Numbers
By far the largest subfamily, with 13,000 to 15,000 described spp. in >1000 genera of 7 tribes worldwide and ~700 spp. in 90 genera in our area; Alticini account for >60% of the diversity(2)(3)
Identification
see (4)
Range
Worldwide and throughout NA
Food
Most feed on dicots; some may have adapted to monocots. Adults generally feed on pollen and fresh leaves; the larvae feed on roots. Many species are polyphagous.
Remarks
Some are serious pests, causing damage by feeding on the plant or by transmitting viruses. Some species have been used to control weeds.
Works Cited
1.Phylogeny of the flea beetles (Galerucinae: Alticini) and the position of Aulacothorax elucidated through anchored phylogenomics
Douglas HB, Konstantinov AS, Brunke AJ, Moseyko AG, Chapados JT, Eyres J, Richter R, Savard K, Sears E, Prathapan KD, Ruan Y... 2023. Sys. Entomol. 48: 361‒386.
2.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.
3.A Synopsis of the North American Galerucinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
John A. Wilcox. 1965. New York State Museum and Science Service.
4.New World genera of Galerucinae (tribes Galerucini, Metacyclini, and Luperini): an annotated list and identification key.
Viswajyothi, K., & Clark, S.M. 2022. European Journal of Taxonomy, 842(1): 1-102.