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

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

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

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) » Case-bearing Leaf Beetles (Cryptocephalinae) » Cryptocephalini » Cryptocephalina » Cryptocephalus » Cupressi group (Cryptocephalus Cupressi group) » Cryptocephalus castaneus

Species Cryptocephalus castaneus

Classification · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Cryptocephalus on Yerba Mansa - Cryptocephalus castaneus ID for a colorful beetle? - Cryptocephalus castaneus Black & Orange Bettle - Cryptocephalus castaneus Cryptocephalus castaneus Unknown Beetle - Cryptocephalus castaneus Cryptocephalus castaneus? - Cryptocephalus castaneus Cryptocephalus? - Cryptocephalus castaneus I assume Cryptocephalinae - Cryptocephalus castaneus
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 Cryptocephalinae (Case-bearing Leaf Beetles)
Tribe Cryptocephalini
Subtribe Cryptocephalina
Genus Cryptocephalus
No Taxon (Cupressi group)
Species castaneus (Cryptocephalus castaneus)
Explanation of Names
Cryptocephalus castaneus J. L. LeConte 1880
castaneus (L). "the chestnut" (1), which presumably refers to chestnut-brown markings (and not a host reference).
Size
Length: 3.9 to 5.3 mm. (2)
Identification
The alternately black and pale striped pronotum, elytral basal spots and medial spots of fused at suture key this one out. … John R. Watts, 8 July, 2008
Range
CA (+ AZ, 2 spmns and NM, 2 spmns) - Map (3)(4)
109 specimens in the USNM collection, only two specimens represent the Arizona record and a single one the New Mexico record; the other 106 specimens are from California. (2)
Season
May-Oct (BG data)
Food
Label data record specimens as occurring on strawberry, willows, blackberry, holly, and alfalfa. (2)
Clark et al. (2004) coll'ed "a very large series" in Calif. from yerba mansa - Anemopsis californica (Saururaceae) (5)
Remarks
At one extreme of development of the color pattern, each elytron bears two large discal spots and four smaller spots laterally; often the discal spots are confluent at the suture.
At the other extreme, the discal spots of each elytron are broadly confluent, thus forming a broad vitta; sometimes these vittae meet at the suture, usually they do not.
Those specimens bearing broad vittae have three or four lateral spots. (2)
See Also
Cryptocephalus leucomelas Suffrian
- Range: AZ-FL-NJ-NV
Det. Guy A. Hanley, 2011
Print References
LeConte, J.L. 1880. Short studies of North American Coleoptera. Transactions of the American. Entomological Society 8: 163–218.
Internet References
California Beetle Project
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
2.A review of the genus Cryptocephalus in America north of Mexico (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera).
White, R.E. 1968. USNM Bulletin 290. 124 pp.
3.Catalog of Leaf Beetles of America North of Mexico
Ed Riley, Shawn Clark, and Terry Seeno. 2003. Coleopterists Society.
4.Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
5.Host plants of leaf beetle species occurring in the United States and Canada
Clark et al. 2004. Coleopterists Society, Special Publication no. 2, 476 pp.
Contributed by john and jane balaban on 8 July, 2008 - 6:19pm
Additional contributions by Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, Aaron Schusteff, Edward Ruden
Last updated 5 December, 2019 - 12:55pm

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:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact