''Cassida'' is a large

Old World The "Old World" () is a term for Afro-Eurasia coined by Europeans after 1493, when they became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia in the Eastern Hemisphere, previously ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

tortoise beetle The Cassidinae (tortoise and leaf-mining beetles) are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. The antennae arise close to each other and some members have the pronotal and Elytron, elytral edges extended to the side and covering the le ...

s in the subfamily

Cassidinae The Cassidinae (tortoise and leaf-mining beetles) are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. The antennae arise close to each other and some members have the pronotal and elytral edges extended to the side and covering the legs so a ...

. The natural history of Cassida sphaerula in South Africa is a typical life cycle. Several species of ''Cassida'' are important

agricultural pest A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environment fo ...

s, in particular '' C. vittata'' and '' C. nebulosa'' on

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

and

spinach Spinach (''Spinacia oleracea'') is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central Asia, Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed eit ...

. The thistle tortoise beetle (''Cassida rubiginosa'') has been used as a

biological control agent Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or ot ...

against

Canada thistle ''Cirsium arvense'' is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native throughout Europe and western Asia, northern Africa and widely introduced elsewhere.Joint Nature Conservation Committee''Cirsium arvense'' The standa ...

. The genus name is derived from Latin ''Cassis'' for a metal helmet. There are at least 430 described species in ''Cassida''. This genus contains the most species of all Cassidinae. Larvae build shields with their feces and exuviae, a widespread pattern of tortoise beetles.Chaboo, C.S., S. Adam, K. Nishida, L. Schletzbaum. 2023. Architecture, construction, retention, and repair of fecal shields in three tribes of tortoise beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae Cassidinae: Cassidini, Mesomphaliini, Spilophorini). ZooKeys Special Issue, Research on Chrysomelidae 9. ZooKeys 1177: 87–146. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1177.102600

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* Chrysomelidae genera Cassidinae Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Cassidinae-stub

See also

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Further reading

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