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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) » Luperini » Luperina-subtribe » Phyllobrotica

Genus Phyllobrotica

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited

Orange and black beetle - Phyllobrotica limbata

Phyllobrotica physostegiae Riley - Phyllobrotica physostegiae - female

Leaf Beetle - Phyllobrotica? - Phyllobrotica limbata

Phyllobrotica sororia from North Central TX - Phyllobrotica sororia

Phyllobrotica lengi Blatchley - Phyllobrotica lengi

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 Luperini

Subtribe Luperina-subtribe

Genus Phyllobrotica

Explanation of Names

Phyllobrotica Chevrolat in Dejean 1836

Greek for 'leaf edible' (1)

Numbers

17 spp. in our area(2), ~30 total(3)

Range

mostly holarctic(3); 5 or so spp. widespread...

Food

Several genera of Lamiaceae(3)

Life Cycle

Larvae are endoparasitic in the roots of host plants. The larvae may sequester the iridoids catalpol and aucubin which defend the plant. These are then passed onto the adults which are aposematically colored and have a bitter taste.(4)

Remarks

Member of the section Phyllobroticites Chapuis 1875

Print References

Farrell B.D., Mitter C. (1990) Phylogenesis of insect-plant interactions: Have Phyllobrotica leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) and the Lamiales diversified in parallel? Evolution 44: 1389-1403. Full text

Works Cited

1.	Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.

2.	Catalog of Leaf Beetles of America North of Mexico Ed Riley, Shawn Clark, and Terry Seeno. 2003. Coleopterists Society.

3.	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.

4.	Insect Ecology: Behavior, Populations and Communities P. W. Price, R. F. Denno, M. D. Eubanks. 2011. Cambridge University Press.

Contributed by tom murray on 24 April, 2006 - 6:57pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 1 May, 2024 - 2:01pm

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