''Pelidnota punctata'', the grapevine beetle, spotted June beetle or spotted pelidnota, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

in the family

Scarabaeidae The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 30,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change in recent years. Several sub ...

(Scarab beetles), subfamily

Rutelinae Rutelinae or shining leaf chafers is a subfamily of the scarab beetles (family Scarabaeidae). It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains some 200 genera with over 4,000 described species in 7 tribes. A few recen ...

. Grapevine beetles are common in the north and central United States and eastern Canada, but do relatively little damage to their host plants. The beetles fly at a fast speed, usually in a curving flight. The adult beetle is approximately 2.5 centimetres (1 inch) long, but can reach 3 cm (1.2 in) occasionally. Its pattern is off-yellow or auburn red, with four black spots running down each side. Fine black lines divide the edges of its

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

. There are regional variants of ''Pelidnota punctata'': a common southern form lacks the darker legs, while the northern form has darker legs. Adults in the northern parts of its range will have darker and more spots, while those in the southern regions may not have them at all. The grapevine beetle is a variable species, whose taxonomy was confused by a single authority ( Thomas Casey) who split the species into 11 different taxa in 1915, only to have these names relegated to synonymy by subsequent workers.

Habitat and diet

This species lives throughout the eastern part of North America, from Ontario and Maine in the north to Florida in the south, and west to Texas and South Dakota. It lives, like many beetles, in

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, thickets, and woods, and is mostly seen during the summer. Active flyers, these beetles are commonly attracted to lights at night. It is also seen in

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineya ...

s and

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s. The adult beetle eats the leaves and fruit of

grapevine ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 79 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus is made up of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, ...

s, both wild and cultivated, although it is not normally a major pest of vineyards. They lay eggs in rotten wood, tree stumps, or on soil near the host plant, where they hatch into

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. ...

e, which may grow up to two inches long. Larvae then dig their way into the soil, where they feed on rotted wood. ''Pupal chambers'' are built shallowly underground. The adults emerge in July.Milne, Lorus, and Margery Milne (2000). ''National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders''. New York: Knopf. 989 pp. . Its complete life cycle is two years.

References

External links

''Pelidnota punctata'' - Grapevine Beetle
BugGuide

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2551260 Scarabaeidae Beetles of North America Beetles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus