The Eumolpinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or

Chrysomelidae 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 ...

. It is one of the largest subfamilies of leaf beetles, including more than 500 genera and 7000 species. They are oval, and convex in form, and measure up to 10 mm in size. Typical coloration for this subfamily of beetles ranges from bright yellow to dark red. Many species are

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear to gradually change color as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Examples of iridescence include soap bubbles, feathers, butterfl ...

or brilliantly metallic blue or green in appearance.

Description

Eumolpinae can be recognized at first sight by their rounded thoraces, more or less spherical or bell-shaped, but always significantly narrower than the mesothorax as covered by the elytra. Additional features include a small head set deeply into the thorax, and usually well-developed legs. They generally resemble other Chrysomelidae, but differ in having front coxae rounded and third tarsal segment bilobed beneath. Many are metallic, or yellow and spotted. The dogbane beetle (''

Chrysochus auratus ''Chrysochus auratus'', the dogbane beetle, of eastern North America, is a member of the leaf beetle subfamily Eumolpinae. It is primarily found east of the Rocky Mountains. Its diet mainly consists of dogbane ('' Apocynum''), specifically ''Apo ...

''), for instance, is very attractive—iridescent blue-green with a coppery tinge, it measures 8–10 mm, and is found on dogbane and milkweed. Some, such as members of the genus ''Macrocoma'', are unusually

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. Th ...

ceous and with unusually prominent

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 tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

s for members of the family Chrysomelidae.

Distribution

The Eumolpinae are distributed worldwide. They are numerous in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

, particularly in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

tropical Africa Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic realm of Africa is far more diverse. While the tropics are thought of as regions with hot moist climates, which are caused by latitude and the tropi ...

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 ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

and

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, but are progressively less common towards the north. They have a high

species richness Species richness is the number of different species represented in an ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the abundances of the species or their relative a ...

Gallery

File:Macrocoma rubripes (Schaufuss, 1862) male (16633879489).png, ''Macrocoma rubripes'', a setaceous species File:Brachypnoea.jpg, ''

Brachypnoea ''Brachypnoea'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is mostly found in the Neotropical realm, though there are also eight known species in the Nearctic realm. The genus was originally named ''Noda'', named by Chevr ...

'' sp. File:Dogbane Beetle - Chrysochus auratus, Meadowood Farm SRMA, Mason Neck, Virginia.jpg,

Dogbane Beetle ''Chrysochus auratus'', the dogbane beetle, of eastern North America, is a member of the leaf beetle subfamily Eumolpinae. It is primarily found east of the Rocky Mountains. Its diet mainly consists of dogbane ('' Apocynum''), specifically ''Apo ...

- ''Chrysochus auratus''

Tribes

The number of tribes in the subfamily varies depending on the author. According to a classification from 2011, for instance, there are 12 tribes: *

Bromiini Bromiini (or Adoxini) is a tribe of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. The tribe contains approximately 120 genera, which are found worldwide. They are generally thought to be an artificial group, often with a subcylindrical prothorax with ...

Baly, 1865 (1863) – also known as "Adoxini" in some classifications; some authors split this into additional tribes such as "Myochroini" and "Scelodontini". *

Caryonodini ''Caryonoda'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is considered either the only member of the tribe Caryonodini, or a member of the tribe Eumolpini. It contains six species from South America, and a single species from Nica ...

Bechyné, 1951 – contains only ''

Caryonoda ''Caryonoda'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is considered either the only member of the tribe Caryonodini, or a member of the tribe Eumolpini. It contains six species from South America, and a single species from Nica ...

''. *

Cubispini Cubispini is a tribe of leaf beetles from the Neotropical realm. It is classified within either the Eumolpinae or the Cassidinae. It was established by Francisco Monrós in 1954 to contain the genus ''Cubispa'', which was originally placed in the ...

Monrós, 1954 – contains only ''

Cubispa ''Cubispa'' is a genus of leaf beetles consisting of two species from Central America and the Caribbean. It is classified within the tribe Cubispini, which is placed within either the Eumolpinae or the Cassidinae. Beetles in the genus are wingl ...

'' and ''

Lobispa ''Lobispa'' is a genus of leaf beetles consisting of three species from Central America and northern South America. It is classified within the tribe Cubispini, which is placed within the subfamily Eumolpinae. The genus superficially resembles th ...

''; some authors exclude this tribe from Eumolpinae and retain it within

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 as ...

instead. *

Eumolpini Eumolpini is a tribe of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is the largest tribe in the subfamily, with approximately 170 genera found worldwide. Members of the tribe almost always have a longitudinal median groove on the pygidium, whic ...

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

, 1840 – also known as "Colaspoidini" in some classifications; some authors split this into additional tribes such as "Iphimeini" and "Endocephalini". * Euryopini Chapuis, 1874 – also known as "Colasposomini" in some classifications. * Habrophorini Bechyné & Špringlová de Bechyné, 1969 – contains only '' Habrophora'' and '' Psathyrocerus''. * Hemydacnini Bechyné, 1951 – contains only '' Hemydacne'' and '' Colasita''. * Megascelidini Chapuis, 1874 – contains only '' Megascelis'' and '' Mariamela''; formerly considered a separate subfamily. * Merodini Chapuis, 1874 – contains only '' Meroda''. * Pygomolpini Bechyné, 1949 – contains only '' Pygomolpus''. * Rosiroiini Bechyné, 1950 – contains only '' Rosiroia''. * Typophorini Baly, 1865 – also known as "Nodinini" in some classifications; some authors split this into additional tribes such as "Metachromini". The tribe Eupalini was proposed in 2005 for the genus '' Eupales'' (also known as ''Floricola''). However, the name "Eupalini" was not explicitly indicated as new, so it is currently considered an unavailable name according to the

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its publisher, the I ...

. The subfamily Spilopyrinae was formerly considered a tribe of Eumolpinae, while recently the subfamily Synetinae has sometimes been grouped within Eumolpinae.

References

External links