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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 » Chrysomelina » Plagiodera » Imported Willow Leaf Beetle (Plagiodera versicolora)

Species Plagiodera versicolora - Imported Willow Leaf Beetle

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Size · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Blue beetles on willow - Plagiodera versicolora Willow Leaf Beetle larvae - Plagiodera versicolora Leaf Beetle - Plagiodera versicolora Black beetle - Plagiodera versicolora Imported Willow Leaf Beetle - Plagiodera versicolora chrysomelid 3 - Plagiodera versicolora another shiny greenish chrysomelid - Plagiodera versicolora Tiny Chrysomelid Phaedon? - Plagiodera versicolora
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 Chrysomelina
Genus Plagiodera
Species versicolora (Imported Willow Leaf Beetle)
Other Common Names
Willow Leaf Beetle
Explanation of Names
Plagiodera versicolora (Laicharting 1781)
versicolora 'variably colored'
Size
2.5‒4.5 mm(1)
Range
east of the Mississippi R. (NS‒AB to SC‒TN‒IA) - Map (2)(3)(4), Holarctic(5)
Food
Willow (Salix) and poplar (Populus) leaves
Life Cycle
Hibernating adults emerge in the spring; 3 generations, usually the third one hibernates. There may be a fourth generation.
Remarks
considered a pest • Produces a mixture of cyclopentanoid monoterpenes for defense, mostly to deter birds(6)
Print References
Wade M.J. (1994) The biology of the imported willow leaf beetle, Plagiodera versicolora (Laicharting). Novel aspects of the biology of Chrysomelidae, Ser. Entomol. 50: 541‒547 (Abstract)
Internet References
Fact sheets: Ostry et al. (1989) • NatureSpot(1)
Works Cited
1.NatureSpot: recording the wildlife of Leicestershire and Rutland
2.Checklist of beetles (Coleoptera) of Canada and Alaska. Second edition
Bousquet Y., Bouchard P., Davies A.E., Sikes D.S. 2013. ZooKeys 360: 1–402.
3.Catalog of Leaf Beetles of America North of Mexico
Ed Riley, Shawn Clark, and Terry Seeno. 2003. Coleopterists Society.
4.Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
5.Borowiec L. (200_-2013) Chrysomelidae: The leaf beetles of Europe and the Mediterranean subregion (checklist and iconography)
6.Introduction to Ecological Biochemistry
J.B. Harborne. 1993. Academic Press Limited.
Contributed by tom murray on 8 June, 2006 - 8:05pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason, Beatriz Moisset, Mike Quinn, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 4 April, 2024 - 11:35am

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