Clickable Guide

Interactive image map to choose major taxa

Calendar

Upcoming Events

National Moth Week was July 19-27, and the Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Genus Neogalerucella - Purple Loosestrife Beetles

Leaf Beetle - Neogalerucella - male - female

Black-margined Loosestrife Beetle - Neogalerucella calmariensis

Black-margined Loosestrife Beetle? - Neogalerucella calmariensis - male - female

Chrysomelidae - Neogalerucella calmariensis

Beetle - Neogalerucella calmariensis - male - female

Pennsylvania Beetle for ID - Neogalerucella calmariensis

purple loosestrife beetle - Neogalerucella calmariensis

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 Neogalerucella (Purple Loosestrife Beetles)

Explanation of Names

Neogalerucella Chûjô 1962

Numbers

4 spp. (incl. 2 introduced) in our area(1), 9 total

Identification

The native species (N. quebecensis [QC, MI], N. stefanssoni [NT]) have elytra all pale, and are hard to distinguish from N. pusilla(2)

Range

holarctic; transboreal in NA (NS-MI-AK)(1)

Food

hosts: native spp. on Potentilla and Rubus (Rosaceae), introduced spp. on Lythrum (Lythraceae)(1)

Remarks

N. calmariensis and N. pusilla were introduced in the US from Europe and Asia in 1992 to control purple loosestrife. N. calmariensis emerges about a week before N. pusilla, first eating the leaves, shoots, and buds; then the N. pusilla eats the new growth, weakening the loosestrife, and after a few years the plants die off.

Internet References

Fact sheets: Bell (2000) [MT](3) | ANON.(4) | anon.[BC](5)

Works Cited

1.	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.

2.	A Synopsis of the North American Galerucinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Wilcox, J.A. 1965. New York State Museum and Science Service Bulletin No. 400. 226 pp.

3.	Breitenfeldt T., ed. (1999-) Montana war on weeds

4.	Biological control: A guide to natural enemies in North America

5.	Invasive plants with biocontrol -- BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

6.	Integrated Weed Control Project: Biological control agents

Contributed by tom murray on 29 October, 2007 - 6:01pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Boris Bueche, ceiseman, v belov, metrioptera
Last updated 22 October, 2023 - 11:01am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version