Leptinotarsa haldemani

Leptinotarsa haldemani
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Chrysomelidae
Genus: Leptinotarsa
Species: L. haldemani
Binomial name
Leptinotarsa haldemani
Rogers, 1856

Leptinotarsa haldemani is a glossy green beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is commonly known as Haldeman's green potato beetle. It was named in honour of Samuel Stehman Haldeman, a nineteenth-century American entomologist who collected insect specimens in Texas.

Description

This little beetle has a black head, antennae, thorax and legs. Its general body shape is domed and the elytra are usually deep metallic green but sometimes metallic purple or blue.[1]

Distribution

This species is found in Mexico, Central America and the US states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.[2]

Host plants

This beetle is found on members of the Solanaceae family including wild species of Physalis, Solanum douglasii and the Anderson thornbush, Lycium andersonii.[3] It is also occasionally found on potatoes.[4]

References

  1. "Leptinotarsa haldemani Rogers, 1856". Bug Guide. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  2. Riley, E.G., S.M. Clark, & T.N. Seeno. 2003. Catalog of the leaf beetles of America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Megalopodidae, Orsodacnidae and Chrysomelidae, excluding Bruchinae). Coleopterists Society, Special Publication no. 1, 290 pp.
  3. Donald C. Weber; Daniel L. Rowley; Matthew H. Greenstone; Michael M. Athanas. "Prey preference and host suitability of the predatory and parasitoid carabid beetle, Lebia grandis, for several species of Leptinotarsa beetles" (PDF). Beltsville, MD: Insect Biocontrol Laboratory.
  4. Clark, S.M., D.G. LeDoux, T.N. Seeno, E.G. Riley, A.J. Gilbert and J.M. Sullivan. 2004. Host plants of leaf beetle species occurring in the United States and Canada (Coleoptera: Megalopodidae, Orsodacnidae, Chrysomelidae exclusive of Bruchinae). Coleopterists Society, Special Publication no. 2, 476 pp.
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