Microrhopala excavata

Microrhopala excavata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Chrysomelidae
Genus: Microrhopala
Species:
M. excavata
Binomial name
Microrhopala excavata
(Olivier, 1808)
Synonyms
  • Hispa excavata Olivier, 1808
  • Hispa cyanea Say, 1823

Microrhopala excavata is a species of leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is found in North America,[1][2][3] where it has been recorded from Canada (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan) and the United States (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin).

Description

Adults reach a length of about 4-5.6 mm (males) and 4.6-6.6 mm (females). Adults are black, metallic green, blue or purple.[4]

Biology

They have been recorded feeding on Doellingeria umbellata, Solidago species (including Solidago drummondii), Helianthus annuus and Heterotheca villosa.[5]

Subspecies

These two subspecies belong to the species Microrhopala excavata:

  • Microrhopala excavata cyanea (Say, 1824) (Alberta and Manitoba to Arizona, Texas, and Missouri)
  • Microrhopala excavata excavata (Olivier, 1808) (Minnesota and Nova Scotia to Texas and Florida)

References

  1. ^ "Microrhopala excavata Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  2. ^ "Microrhopala excavata". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  3. ^ Clark, Shawn M. (1983). "A revision of the genus Microrhopala Microrhopala (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in America north of Mexico". Great Basin Naturalist. 43 (4).
  4. ^ Staines, C.L. (2012). "Hispines of the World". USDA/APHIS/PPQ Science and Technology and National Natural History Museum. Retrieved August 26, 2025.

Further reading

  • Borowiec, Lech (1999). A world catalogue of the Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Biologicae Silesiae. ISBN 978-83-909804-4-7.
  • Lobl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2013). Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 6: Chrysomeloidea. Apollo Books. ISBN 978-90-04-26091-7.
  • Media related to Microrhopala excavata at Wikimedia Commons
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