''Lilioceris cheni'', the air potato leaf beetle, is a species of beetle in the genus ''

Lilioceris ''Lilioceris'' is a genus of beetles in the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. The genus was first scientifically described in 1912 by Edmund Reitter. ''Lilioceris'' belongs to the subfamily Criocerinae and tribe Criocerini (Latreille, 1807). T ...

'' that feeds on air potato plants. Air potatoes and the beetles are both native to Asia but have been introduced elsewhere. The air potato plants are an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

found throughout

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, and the beetles were introduced in 2012 by biologists in Florida to help control the spread of the air potato.Nature Conservancy Magazine February / March 2015

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Further reading