The Chrysomelinae are a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

leaf beetle The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

s (Chrysomelidae), commonly known as broad-bodied leaf beetles or broad-shouldered leaf beetles. It includes some 3,000 species around the world. The best-known member is the notorious

Colorado potato beetle The Colorado potato beetle (''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), also known as the Colorado beetle, the ten-striped spearman, the ten-lined potato beetle, or the potato bug, is a major pest of potato crops. It is about long, with a bright yellow/o ...

(''Leptinotarsa decemlineata''), an important

agricultural pest A pest is any animal or plant 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 environ ...

Description

Adults of Chrysomelinae are beetles with the following features: antennae inserted on or adjacent to anterior edge of head; inner face of each

mandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...

with large membranous prostheca; each wing with only one anal cell (sometimes the wings are reduced or absent); metendosternite lateral arms without lobes; femora without internal spring sclerite; tibial spurs absent; tarsi without bifid

seta In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for " bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

e; stridulatory mechanism absent; male aedeagus without tegminal ring and the testes not fused within a common membrane; female kotpresse absent. CC-BY icon

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In terms of general appearance, the body is convex, round or oval, and often brightly coloured. The colours and patterns may vary even within a species. Flightless species (at least in the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n chrysomeline fauna) tend to be small and dark, and also nocturnal. Larvae can be recognised by: 6 pairs of

stemmata A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ...

on the head; labial palpi 2-segmented; mandibles palmate; labrum freely articulated; annular spiracles; legs present, with paronychial appendix and pretarsus; not in a transportable case. Both adults and larvae have glands that secrete chemicals to defend against predators.

Diet

Chrysomelinae are

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

and usually feed on plant leaves, less commonly on flowers. There is geographic variation: chrysomelines in the temperate northern hemisphere mostly feed on annual or perennial

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

, whereas the temperate southern hemisphere chrysomelines prefer woody

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s and

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s. Larval

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

is known from some Chrysomelinae.

Life cycle

The general life cycle of Chrysomelinae begins with eggs laid on a host plant. These hatch into larvae which feed on the plant. When fully developed, larvae go down to the soil to pupate. Adults emerge and feed on host plants again, and also reproduce. There are variations on this cycle, such as ovoviviparity (larvae emerging from eggs as they are laid) or

viviparity Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...

(giving birth to larvae), eggs being dropped from host plants, or pupation occurring on host plants (''

Plagiodera ''Plagiodera'' is a genus of Chrysomelinae (a subfamily of leaf beetles). Selected species * ''Plagiodera arizonae'' Crotch, 1873 * ''Plagiodera cajennensis'' Fabricius, 1798 * ''Plagiodera californica'' (Rogers, 1856) * ''Plagiodera septemvit ...

'').

Behaviour

Larvae of various species form groups, possibly as defense against predators and parasitoids, while other species have solitary larvae. Adults of '' Zygogramma appendiculata'' have also been observed aggregating. Larvae of some '' Platyphora'' attach

trichome Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a pla ...

s from their host plant to hairs on their back, possibly to camouflage themselves. Feigning death occurs in adults and larvae of various species. Some species of Chrysomelinae express high levels of maternal care by insect standards. Not only do they locate food-rich environments for their eggs, they protect both the eggs and the larvae after hatching.

Evolutionary history

The oldest members of the family are several species of the genus '' Mesolpinus,'' belonging to the extinct monotypic tribe Mesolpinini, known from the Aptian aged

Yixian Formation The Yixian Formation (; formerly transcribed as Yihsien Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the late Barremian and early Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It is known for its exq ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Selected genera

The subfamily includes the following genera: * '' Agasta'' * '' Alfius'' * '' Callidemum'' * '' Calligrapha'' * ''

Calomela ''Calomela'' is a genus of beetles commonly called leaf beetles and in the family Chrysomelidae. They are specialist feeders on various species of ''Acacia'' and are not reported as a problem species. The beetles are cylindrical when compared wi ...

'' * '' Cecchiniola'' * '' Chalcolampra'' * '' Chrysomela'' * '' Chrysolina'' * '' Colaphellus'' * '' Colaspidema'' * '' Crosita'' * '' Cyrtonastes'' * '' Cyrtonus'' * '' Dicranosterna'' * '' Doryphora'' * '' Entomoscelis'' * ''

Gastrophysa ''Gastrophysa'' is a genus of beetles in the family Chrysomelidae, in which the females typically exhibit swollen, membranous abdomens, a condition known as physogastrism. Species These nine species belong to the genus ''Gastrophysa'': * ''Gas ...

'' * '' Geomela'' * '' Gonioctena'' (includes ''Phytodecta'') * '' Hydrothassa'' * ''

Labidomera ''Labidomera'' is a genus of leaf beetles. Taxonomy The genus ''Labidomera'' is assigned to the chrysomelid beetle tribe Chrysomelini (in subfamily Chrysomelinae The Chrysomelinae are a subfamily of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), commonly kn ...

'' *'' Lamprolina'' * ''

Leptinotarsa ''Leptinotarsa'' is a genus of leaf beetles. Several species in the genus produce leptinotarsin, a toxin similar to the diamphotoxin produced by species of the African leaf beetle genus ''Diamphidia''. Some ''Leptinotarsa'' species are parasitis ...

'' * '' Linaedea'' * '' Machomena'' * '' Microtheca'' * '' Oomela'' * ''

Oreina ''Oreina'' is a genus of broad-shouldered leaf beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Chrysomelinae. Species The genus contains the following species, in seven subgenera: * Subgenus ''Allorina'' ** ''Oreina auricollis'' ** '' ...

'' * †'' Paleophaedon'' * '' Paropsides'' * '' Paropsis'' * ''

Paropsisterna ''Paropsisterna'' is a genus of leaf beetles indigenous to Papua New Guinea and Australia. There are over 120 species, many with bright aposematic colours, and many feeding on ''Eucalyptus'' leaves. The genus was described by Victor Motschulsky ...

'' * '' Peltoschema'' * '' Phaedon'' * ''

Phratora Phratora is a genus of Chrysomelidae, leaf beetles. It is synonymous to ''Phyllodecta'' . European ''Phratora'' species can be distinguished based on morphology of female genitalia., but they differ little in size and body form and most sho ...

'' * '' Phola'' * ''

'' * ''

Prasocuris ''Prasocuris'' is a genus of Chrysomelinae (a subfamily of leaf beetle The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, ...

'' * '' Promechus'' * ''

Proseicela ''Proseicela'' is a genus of leaf beetles. Taxonomy The genus ''Proseicela'' Chevrolat is assigned to the Chrysomelidae beetle tribe Chrysomelini (in subfamily Chrysomelinae). A single species has been sampled in the molecular-based phylogeny o ...

'' * '' Rhaebosterna'' * '' Sclerophaedon'' * †'' Stenaspidiotus'' * '' Timarcha'' * '' Timarchida'' * ''

Trachymela ''Trachymela'' is a genus of beetles, commonly called leaf beetles and in the subfamily Chrysomelinae. These beetles are usually brown or black and have elytra with verrucae (bumps) and lacking striae. ''Trachymela'' can be found in all states ...

'' * '' Zira'' * ''

Zygogramma ''Zygogramma'' is a large genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Chrysomelinae, which includes approximately 100 species. 13 species occur north of Mexico. Adults and larvae are herbivorous on various host plants. '' Zygogramma exclamationis'' is ...

Gallery

File:Colaspidema atrum (Olivier, 1799) (2984392300).jpg, '' Colaspidema barbarum'' File:Paropsis dilatata.jpg, '' Paropsis dilatata'' File:Peltoschema oceanica2Lofty.jpg, '' Peltoschema oceanica'' File:Calomela satelles deep 96.JPG, '' Calomela satelles'' File:Paropsides oppisita Moondarra.JPG, '' Paropsides opposita'' File:Paropsisterna Ch8MtLofty (3).jpg, ''

'' File:Plagiodera versicolora larva adults.jpg, '' Plagiodera versicolora'', larva and adults File:Labidomera clivicollis larva.jpg, '' Labidomera clivicollis'', larva

References

External links

*
Key to the British genera of Chrysomelinae

Key to the Australian genera of Chrysomelinae (Reid)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q134997 Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille Beetle subfamilies