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Photo#3004
Clavate Tortoise Beetle - Helocassis clavata

Clavate Tortoise Beetle - Helocassis clavata
Kennebunk, Maine, USA
June 23, 2003
Strange-looking insect;moved very slowly,retracted antennae when touched. 7-8mm.

Latin?
Is this Plagiometriona clavata or do your sources show a different name?

 
looks like Plagiometriona (clavata)
I think Deloyala has two "front paws" and one "tail" marking, as oppose d to your photo, which has that quadriped look
This ref has a photo of P. clavata that looks very close, gives size as 7-7.5 mm:
Insects of Quebec .
Also, our friends in Cedar Creek, Minnesota, have done their usual thorough job, with a photo of a specimen.

That photos also looks very close, if not identical.

I was confused, because Dillon and Dillon have an illustration of Deloyala, Plagiometriona, and Metriona, but the labels on the last two are mixed up on the plate.

I want to see these things--I must have been missing them in the past.

 
All Cassidae I've found, here
All Cassidae I've found, here and in South America, have been on vines in the morning glory family. Most any vacant lot is likely to contain wild morning glories. Also, if your town maintains planter boxes in downtown areas that include greenish-yellow vines, check them for tortoise beetles.

 
So there really are two separate clavata?
I was assuming Deloyala was an old classification. Did Dillon and Dillon really show them as distinct?

 
Deloyala vs. Plagiometriona, D&D
Yes, they show them as distinct genera. Apparently Plagio. is mislabeled on plate LXXIV (74). When you get your copy, Troy, you'll see. Plagiometriona is supposed to be #9 on that plate, and Metriona bivittata is supposed to be #8.

I am way not an expert on this--I've never even seen the things. I just know what they look like in the beook and on the web.

Who knows what the taxonomy is today? At any rate, it will probably change tomorrow.

 
photo database
fyi, here's a link to a photo database (of dead specimens) of Cassidinae worldwide:
www.biol.uni.wroc.pl/.../ Photos/

They do not mention Plagiometriona clavata. However, google has more image links to Plagiometriona clavata than to Helocassis clavata.

 
clavate tortoise beetle
V J Hickey I sent you 1 ref. ...Deloyala clavata; I found another ref. from Ohio State U on pesticides, that refers to Plagiometriona; Audubon Guide says Deloyola. Google showed only 3 refs.

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