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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) » Disonycha Genus Group » Disonycha » Disonycha pensylvanica

Species Disonycha pensylvanica

Classification · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Works Cited

Which Disonycha? - Disonycha pensylvanica

on the painted wall - Disonycha pensylvanica

Disonycha pensylvanica? - Disonycha pensylvanica

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 pensylvanica (Disonycha pensylvanica)

Explanation of Names

Disonycha pensylvanica (Illiger 1807)

Size

5.1-6.5 mm(1)

Identification

The three species of the D. pensylvanica-group are hard to tell apart; in some cases examining male genitalia is the only way.

Common features: Head completely, or for the most part, black; pronotum reddish, usually with central dark spot (+ lateral spots casually); elytra always with pure black & white stripe pattern, black stripes wider than white ones.

Characters that work in most cases:

Disonycha pensylvanica:

head, legs, antennae always black, also underside, except last ventrite (tergites red, however!);

elytra indistinctly punctured, clearly costate in females;

elytral sutural and sublateral black stripes united at tip;

pronotum with one central macula, which may become enlarged to cover most of pronotum;

5-6.5 mm body length.

Where this combination is not complete, especially, if elytral sutural and sublateral black stripes usually shortly interrupted at tip by reddish color, then:

Disonycha uniguttata:

head usually red around antennal sockets;

legs may have red femora;

all ventrites margined red;

elytra clearly punctured, not costate in females;

pronotum with a central macula and two smaller lateral spots (may fuse, but not disappear);

5.8-8 mm body length.

Disonycha procera:

head usually red anterior of antennal base;

legs usually with red femora, also tibiae can be partly red; (variants with legs all dark occur)

abdomen usually completely red;

elytra finely punctured, +/- costate in females;

pronotum with 0-5 spots (may fuse);

5.6-6.8 mm body length.

Range

e. NA (TX-FL-QC-SD) to C. America [map](2)(3)

Habitat

usually near aquatic habitats(1)

Food

Normal hosts are Polygonum spp. including smartweed (Polygonaceae)(4)(5)

Works Cited

1.	The leaf beetles of Alabama Edward Balsbaugh and Kirby Hays. 1972. Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn University.

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.

5.	Revision of the Beetles of the Genus Disonycha Occuring in America North of Mexico Doris Holmes Blake. 1933. Proceedings of the United States National Museum, Vol 82.

Contributed by john and jane balaban on 8 January, 2006 - 10:19am
Additional contributions by Stephen_WV, Mike Quinn, Boris Bueche, v belov
Last updated 8 June, 2023 - 5:54pm

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