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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) » Chrysomelinae » Chrysomelini » Doryphorina » Labidomera » Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Labidomera clivicollis)

Species Labidomera clivicollis - Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
BG2570 E2403 - Labidomera clivicollis Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle - Labidomera clivicollis Swamp Milkweed Beetle? - Labidomera clivicollis Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle - Labidomera clivicollis Labidomera clivicollis (Kirby) - Labidomera clivicollis Milkweed Beetle? - Labidomera clivicollis Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle larva - Labidomera clivicollis Labidomera clivicollis (Kirby) - Labidomera clivicollis Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (3 stages) - Labidomera clivicollis
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 Labidomera
Species clivicollis (Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle)
Other Common Names
Milkweed Leaf Beetle - MLB
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Labidomera clivicollis (Kirby)
Orig. Comb: Chrysomela clivicollis Kirby 1837
Size
8-11 mm(1)
Identification
pattern is highly variable:

spmns in the TAMUIC(2)
Range
e NA to NM (NM-FL-NS-MB) / ne. Mex. - Map (1)(3)
Habitat
Meadows, roadsides, esp. wetlands
Food
hosts: milkweeds, especially Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata), but also Common Milkweed (A. syriaca). Also on swallow-wort (Cynanchum) and twinevine (Funastrum)(4)(1)
Primary host in Texas is talayote - Cynanchum racemosum (Asclepiadaceae)
Life Cycle
Often overwinter as adults among leaves, e.g. on mullein (Verbascum). Adults mate on or around milkweed. Eggs are cemented to the underside of leaves. Larvae feed on leaves, and drop to ground to pupate.(5)
Detailed life cycle images and rearing information.


Parasitized by Chrysomelobia labidomerae (Acari)
Remarks
Part of the orange and black milkweed mimicry complex, which includes Monarch Butterfly, Red Milkweed Beetle, milkweed bugs, and an assassin bug.
Larvae and adults cut several side-veins of a milkweed leaf prior to feeding, to reduce the sticky latex that would otherwise be produced at their feeding sites.(6)
See Also
Leptinotarsa lineolata (Stål) - on Burrobrush - Hymenoclea (Asteraceae)
- Range: AZ to w. TX
Det. E. G. Riley, 2010
Print References
Eickwort. K. R. 1973. Cannibalism and kin selection in Labidomera clivicollis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). The American Midland Naturalist 107: 452-453.
Eickwort, K.R. 1977. Population dynamics of a relatively rare species of milkweed beetle (Labidomera). Ecology 58(3): 527-538.
Palmer, J.O. 1981. Life history consequences of resource seasonality in the milkweed leaf beetle, Labidomera clivicollis. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Texas at Austin. 198 pp.
Internet References
Texas Entomology - Mike Quinn, 2008
Biokids
iNaturalist
Works Cited
1.Beetles of Eastern North America
Arthur V. Evans. 2014. Princeton University Press.
2.Texas A&M University Insect Collection (TAMUIC)
3.Catalog of Leaf Beetles of America North of Mexico
Ed Riley, Shawn Clark, and Terry Seeno. 2003. Coleopterists Society.
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.
5.National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders
Lorus and Margery Milne. 1980. Knopf.
6.For Love of Insects
Thomas Eisner. 2003. Belknap Press.
Contributed by Cotinis on 24 March, 2004 - 4:49am
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, Tony-2, Mike Quinn, Wisconsin Oecanthinancy, v belov, marcie oconnor, Blocky, Tyler Hedlund, dvoribird
Last updated 13 August, 2024 - 2:10pm

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