''Colaspis floridana'' is a species of

leaf beetle The beetle family Chrysomelidae, commonly known as leaf beetles, includes over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making it one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families. Numerous s ...

from

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. It mainly occurs in the southeastern

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, including

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Description

In the adult stage, ''Colaspis floridana'' is a small oval beetle, between in length. Its color is yellowish-brown to pale reddish-brown, with rows of darker brown punctures on its

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) 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 (sometime ...

. It is very similar to the closely related ''Colaspis brunnea'', but is readily distinguished by the first two elytral costae being wider and separated by a single row of punctures.

Taxonomy

''Colaspis floridana'' was originally described by Charles Schaeffer in 1933 as a variety of '' Colaspis brunnea'', and was elevated to species

rank A rank is a position in a hierarchy. It can be formally recognized—for example, cardinal, chief executive officer, general, professor—or unofficial. People Formal ranks * Academic rank * Corporate title * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy ...

in 1974 by Doris Blake. Another species of ''Colaspis'' was mistakenly described under the same name by Blake in 1977; after discovering the error, Edward Riley renamed that species as '' C. pseudofavosa''.

Biology

Although little has been published specific to the larval behavior of ''C. floridana'', its life history is likely to be similar to that of closely related species such as ''C. brunnea'', in which the larvae feed underground on roots of grasses and

forbs A forb or phorb is a herbaceous flowering plant that is not a graminoid (grass, sedge, or rush). The term is used in botany and in vegetation ecology especially in relation to grasslands and understory. Typically, these are eudicots without wood ...

overwinter Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activ ...

underground, and emerge as an adults in the following year. The adult stage feeds on leaves of a wide range of plants, including crop species such as

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

okra Okra (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions aro ...

, and

peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

, as well as ornamental plants such as

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and crapemyrtle, although it has not been reported as an economically damaging pest.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14933836 Beetles of North America Taxa named by Charles Frederic August Schaeffer Beetles described in 1933 Eumolpinae