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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) » Skeletonizing Leaf Beetles and Flea Beetles (Galerucinae) » Flea Beetles (Alticini) » Longitarsus Genus Group » Aphthona

Genus Aphthona

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited
Flea Beetle - Aphthona Aphthona czwalinai Aphthona flava Beetle - Aphthona lacertosa - female Chrysomelidae - Aphthona Beetle - Aphthona flea beetle aspirated from Arctostaphylos - Aphthona flea beetle aspirated from Arctostaphylos - Aphthona
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 (Longitarsus Genus Group)
Genus Aphthona
Explanation of Names
Aphthona Chevrolat in Dejean 1836
Numbers
6 introduced spp.*, 5 established, in our area(1), ~300 total(2)
*A. flava Guillebeau, A. cyparissiae Koch, A. abdominalis Duftschmid, A. nigriscutis Foudras, A. czwalinae Weise, A. lacertosa Rosenheim
Size
2‒4 mm
Identification
key to our spp. in (3); habitus photos
Range
Native to the Old World; in our area, the introduced spp. found across Canada & n. US(4) (were released in the Great Plains)
Habitat
Leafy spurge-infested grasslands (Weeden et al. 2009); larvae subterranean, on roots(4)
Food
hosts: in our area, Euphorbia spp.(5); globally, a wide variety of plants(2); A. lacertosa appears restricted to Euphorbia (Esula) spp. (Weeden et al. 2009)
Remarks
Several species imported to combat invasive Euphorbia spp.(4)
Print References
Roehrdanz R., Olson D., Fauske G., Bourchier R., Cortilet A., Sears S. (2009) New DNA markers reveal presence of Aphthona species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) believed to have failed to establish after release into leafy spurge. Biological Control 49: 1–5 (Full text)
Works Cited
1.Catalog of Leaf Beetles of America North of Mexico
Ed Riley, Shawn Clark, and Terry Seeno. 2003. Coleopterists Society.
2.[Online] Guide to Palearctic flea beetle genera, by Alexander S. Konstantinov and Natalia J. Vanderberg
3.Identification keys for Aphthona flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) introduced in Canada for the control of spurge...
LeSage L., Paquin P. 1996. Can. Entomol. 128: 593‒603.
4.American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
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 Ed Riley on 24 December, 2009 - 5:56pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 26 April, 2024 - 2:03pm

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