''Neochlamisus'' is a genus 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, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

s in the tribe

Fulcidacini The Fulcidacini, sometimes known as the warty leaf beetles, are a tribe within the leaf beetle subfamily Cryptocephalinae, though historically they were often treated as a distinct subfamily, Chlamisinae. 11 genera with altogether about 400 s ...

(the warty leaf beetles). They are members of the case-bearing leaf beetle group, the

Camptosomata Camptosomata are the case-bearing leaf beetles or camptosomates, named for their larval habit of carrying a case of waste material. This group consists of two subfamilies of Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles): Lamprosomatinae and Cryptocephalinae (whi ...

. Measuring 3–4 millimeters in length as adults, they are

cryptic Cryptic may refer to: In science: * Cryptic species complex, a group of species that are very difficult to distinguish from one another * Crypsis, the ability of animals to blend in to avoid observation * Cryptic era, earliest period of the Earth ...

, superficially resembling caterpillar

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

. Seventeen, sometimes 18 species are presently accepted in this genus, all of them occurring in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

(including

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

; some were previously in the genus '' Chlamisus'').

Life history

In the spring, female ''Neochlamisus'' lay eggs singly on the leaves or stems of their host plant and then form a case of fecal material around each. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e remain on the natal host plant and add to and enlarge their fecal cases as they grow. Case enlargement in ''Neochlamisus'' is an elaborate process that larvae perform regularly until the case is sealed to the substrate prior to pupation. During this stage of the life cycle, beetles are immobile and are particularly vulnerable to

predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

. After about twenty days the newly hardened adult cuts a clean circle around the apex of the case, lifts this cap, and flies off to feed and mate. ''Neochlamisus'' adults feed and mate on the larval host plant species. ''Neochlamisus'' species are typically very host-plant-specific and most species primarily use but a single host plant genus or even a single species. A rather well-known exception is '' N. bebbianae'' which feeds on particular species from six tree genera representing five different plant

families Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideall ...

. ''N. bebbianae'' populations associated with each of these plants are referred to as separate "host forms" and are the subject of ongoing studies of host-associated

speciation Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within ...

Species

Seventeen species are widely recognised: *'' Neochlamisus alni'' (Brown, 1943) *'' Neochlamisus assimilis'' (Klug, 1824) *'' Neochlamisus bebbianae'' (Brown, 1943) *'' Neochlamisus bimaculatus'' Karren, 1972 *'' Neochlamisus chamaedaphnes'' (Brown, 1943) *'' Neochlamisus comptoniae'' (Brown, 1943) *'' Neochlamisus cribripennis'' (J. L. LeConte, 1878) *'' Neochlamisus eubati'' (Brown, 1952) *'' Neochlamisus fragariae'' (Brown, 1952) *'' Neochlamisus gibbosus'' (Fabricius, 1777) *'' Neochlamisus insularis'' (Schaeffer, 1926) *'' Neochlamisus moestificus'' (Lacordaire, 1848) *'' Neochlamisus platani'' (Brown, 1952) *'' Neochlamisus scabripennis'' (Schaeffer, 1926) *'' Neochlamisus subelatus'' (Schaeffer, 1926) *'' Neochlamisus tuberculatus'' (Klug, 1824) *'' Neochlamisus velutinus'' Karren, 1972

Footnotes

References

* (2005): Aspects of the natural history of ''Neochlamisus'' (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): fecal-case-associated life history and behavior, with a method for studying insect constructions. ''

Annals of the Entomological Society of America Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between anna ...

'' 98(5): 711–725.
HTML abstract
* (1943): The Canadian species of ''Exema'' and ''Arthrochlamys'' (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). ''

Canadian Entomologist ''The Canadian Entomologist'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of entomology. It is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of Canada and was established in 1868. Volumes ...

'' 75: 119–131. * (1946): Some new Chrysomelidae, with notes on other species (Coleoptera). ''

'' 84: 48–49. * (1952): Some species of Phytophaga (Coleoptera). ''

'' 84: 336–342. * (2008): Faecal case architecture in the ''gibbosus'' species group of ''Neochlamisus'' Karren, 1972 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cryptocephalinae: Chlamisini). ''

Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society The ''Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering zoology published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Linnean Society. The editor-in-chief is Maarten Christenhusz (Linnean Society). ...

'' 152(2): 315–351. (HTML abstract) * (1998): Isolating a role for natural selection in speciation: host adaptation and sexual isolation in ''Neochlamisus bebbianae'' leaf beetles. ''

Evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

'' 52(6): 1744–1759. (HTML abstract and first page image) * (2002): Herbivorous insects: model systems for the comparative study of speciation ecology. ''Genetica'' 116(2-3): 251–267. (HTML abstract)PDF fulltext
link dead 2008-JAN-08 --> * (1972): A revision of the subfamily Chlamisinae of America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). ''University of Kansas Science Bulletin'' 49(12): 875–988. {{Taxonbar, from=Q6992112 Cryptocephalinae Chrysomelidae genera