Microrhopala vittata

Microrhopala vittata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Chrysomelidae
Genus: Microrhopala
Species:
M. vittata
Binomial name
Microrhopala vittata
(Fabricius, 1798)
Synonyms[1]
  • Hispa vittata Fabricius 1798
  • Chalepus lineatus Thunberg 1805
  • Microrhopala laetula J. L. LeConte, 1859

Microrhopala vittata, the goldenrod leaf miner, 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, Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan) and the United States (Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming).

Description

Adults reach a length of about 5โ€“6 mm. They vary in colour from red to black, with a lighter vitta on the elytron.[4]

Biology

They have been recorded feeding on Solidago altissima, Solidago graminifolia, Solidago canadensis, Solidago sempervirens, Solidago juncea, Solidago missouriensis, Solidago laciniatum, Solidago gigantea, Solidago mollis, Solidago rugosa, Solidago uliginosa, Solidago ulmifolia, Solidago rigida, Silphium perfoliatum, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Silphium laciniatum, Silphium perfoliatum and Euthamia graminifolia.[5]

Adults emerge in April. Females lay their eggs in clusters of two to four and cover them in frass.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "Microrhopala vittata Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  2. ^ "Microrhopala vittata". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-24.
  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.
  5. ^ Dohna, Heinrich Zu (2006). "The distribution of eggs per host in a herbivorous insect โˆ’ intersection of oviposition, dispersal and population dynamics". Journal of Animal Ecology. 75 (2): 387โ€“398. Bibcode:2006JAnEc..75..387Z. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01059.x. PMID 16637992.

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 vittata at Wikimedia Commons