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Species Disonycha politula

Red and blue Beetle - Disonycha politula Disonycha? - Disonycha politula Disonycha politula? - Disonycha politula Disonycha politula? - Disonycha politula beetle  - Disonycha politula Disonycha politula? - Disonycha politula Black and red beetle - Disonycha politula Black and red beetle - Disonycha politula
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 Alticini (Flea Beetles)
No Taxon (Disonycha Genus Group)
Genus Disonycha
Species politula (Disonycha politula)
Explanation of Names
Disonycha politula Horn 1889
politula (L). 'polished' (1)
Identification
The bicolored head separates it out from the similar D. xanthomelas and triangularis. … John R. Watts, 17 July, 2008

Picture definitely shows how densely punctate the elytra are (a character of D. politula) and the other shot shows the head and bicolored femora that cinch the ID. I'm sure that Amaranthus is somewhere nearby but I've often collected amaranth-feeding Disonycha in southern AZ away from hosts when the monsoons have been exceptionally good and the beetle populations abundant. … John R. Watts, 21 July, 2008
Range
sw US (AZ to w. TX, sw. KS) / Mex. to C. Amer. - Map (2)(3)
Food
hosts on carelessweed (Amaranthus palmeri, Amaranthaceae) (4)
Print References
Horn, G.H. 1889. A synopsis of the Halticini of boreal America. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 16: 163-320.
Internet References
Type - MCZ, Harvard
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
2.Catalog of Leaf Beetles of America North of Mexico
Ed Riley, Shawn Clark, and Terry Seeno. 2003. Coleopterists Society.
3.Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
4.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.