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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Series Cucujiformia » Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) » Skeletonizing Leaf Beetles and Flea Beetles (Galerucinae) » Flea Beetles (Alticini) » Disonycha Genus Group » Disonycha » Passionflower Flea Beetle (Disonycha discoidea) » Disonycha discoidea abbreviata

Subspecies Disonycha discoidea abbreviata

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Identification · Remarks · Works Cited

Disonycha leptolineata? - Disonycha discoidea - female

Disonycha leptolineata? - Disonycha discoidea

Flea beetle- Disonycha leptolineata? - Disonycha discoidea

Disonycha discoidea? - Disonycha discoidea

Passionflower flea leaf beetle ((Disonycha discoidea)? - Disonycha discoidea

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles)

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)

No Taxon (Disonycha Genus Group)

Genus Disonycha

Species discoidea (Passionflower Flea Beetle)

Subspecies abbreviata (Disonycha discoidea abbreviata)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Disonycha abbreviata Melsheimer, 1847

Explanation of Names

Disonycha discoidea var. abbreviata / Synonymy by Schaeffer (1919), confirmed by Blake (1934).

Identification

Head and pronotum unspotted, reddish; scutellum frequently also reddish. Elytra tricolorate, outer margin red, white discally,

with black sutural and median vitta, both not reaching elytral tip. The median vitta thinly lined in white outside, as often is the

discal macula of the nominate form, or an intermediate seen here:

Disonycha discoidea abbreviata can be mixed up with Disonycha leptolineata only - but quite easily.

In D. discoidea, the elytra are distinctly punctured, while in D.leptolineata, the puncturation is

only feeble, and partially indistinct. Compare:

D. discoidea abbreviata

D.leptolineata

Remarks

Watts (1990), in a paper on biology of D.leptolineata, states:

"Disonycha abbreviata is designed to include various as yet undistinguishable Mexican and Central American species (Blake 1933) and still needs study".

This is a misunderstanding. The type of abbreviata was from Pensylvania, and Blake (1934) did state, that there are southern forms taken for abbreviata,

but probably distinct (1) In a treatment of the fauna S of US (1957), Blake does not mention abbreviata anymore. Under D.leptolineata texana she tells

some problems still exist - but obviously came to the conclusion, that lookalikes from Central America are better classified as D.leptolineata.

Works Cited

1.	Revision of the Beetles of the Genus Disonycha Occuring in America North of Mexico Doris Holmes Blake. 1933. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Vol 82.

Contributed by Boris Büche on 4 November, 2018 - 11:55am
Last updated 4 November, 2018 - 1:01pm

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