''Colaspis pini'', the pine colaspis, is a species 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 ...

from North America. It is known to feed on

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

s in the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, and is an occasional pest of Christmas trees. It was first described by the American entomologist

Herbert Spencer Barber Herbert Spencer Barber (18821950) was an American entomologist.

in 1937. ''Colaspis pini'' resembles ''

Colaspis brunnea ''Colaspis brunnea'', the grape colaspis, is a species of leaf beetle from North America. It mainly occurs in the eastern United States. It is a pest of crop such as corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after t ...

'' (the grape colaspis), and is externally almost identical to ''

Colaspis flavocostata ''Colaspis flavocostata'' is a species of leaf beetle from North America. It is found in the coastal states of the United States; its range spans from Mississippi to Florida and to South Carolina. It was first described by the American entom ...

'' but differs in the shape of the

aedeagus An aedeagus (plural aedeagi) is a reproductive organ of male arthropods through which they secrete sperm from the testes during copulation with a female. It can be thought of as the insect equivalent of a mammal's penis, though the compariso ...

Subspecies

These two subspecies belong to the species ''Colaspis pini'': * ''Colaspis pini pini''

Barber A barber is a person whose occupation is mainly to cut, dress, groom, style and shave men's and boys' hair or beards. A barber's place of work is known as a "barbershop" or a "barber's". Barbershops are also places of social interaction and publi ...

, 1937^{i c g} * ''Colaspis pini schotti''

, 1937^{i c g} Data sources: i = ITIS, c = Catalogue of Life, g = GBIF, b = Bugguide.net

Subspecies

References

Further reading