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

Clickable Guide

Interactive image map to choose major taxa 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

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

Species Chrysolina auripennis

Representative Images

Beautiful! - Chrysolina auripennis Chrysomelidae - Chrysolina auripennis - male - female green beetle - Chrysolina auripennis Chrysolina auripennis (Say) - Chrysolina auripennis Chrysolina auripennis beautiful beetle - Chrysolina auripennis Chrysolina auripennis Red Beetle - Chrysolina auripennis

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 Chrysomelinae
Tribe Chrysomelini
Subtribe Doryphorina
Genus Chrysolina
No Taxon (subgenus Allohypericia)
Species auripennis (Chrysolina auripennis)

Other Common Names

Texas Christmas Beetle (very common in Texas, especially in Nov-Dec) (1)

Explanation of Names

Chrysolina auripennis (Say 1824)
auripennis 'golden winged'

Identification

iridescent green to gold, black form uncommon

Range

mostly sc US (MB-MT-NM to IN-AL) - Map (2)(3)

Food

hosts: Monarda punctata and Pycnanthemum tenuifolium (Lamiaceae)(4)

Internet References

iNaturalist (1)

Works Cited

1.iNaturalist
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.
Contributed by Mike Quinn on 24 February, 2009 - 8:44am
Additional contributions by v belov
Last updated 21 December, 2023 - 10:13am

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