''Colaspis'' is a genus 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 ...

s in the subfamily

Eumolpinae The Eumolpinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. It is one of the largest subfamilies of leaf beetles, including more than 500 genera and 7000 species. They are oval, and convex in form, and measure up to 10 mm in size. ...

. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

. A number of species from this genus are considered to be

pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

s, such as the grape colaspis (''

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 ...

''). Some species are known from the fossil record from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

in the

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 ...

Taxonomy

In some publications for the

Neotropical realm The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bi ...

, ''Colaspis'' is also known as ''Maecolaspis''. This alternative name was created by the Czech entomologist

Jan Bechyné Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

in 1950, due to an error relating to the type species of ''Colaspis'': Bechyné incorrectly considered ''Colaspis testacea'' to be the type species of ''Colaspis'', rather than ''Chrysomela flavicornis''. As a result, ''

Metaxyonycha ''Metaxyonycha'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. Taxonomy ''Metaxyonycha'' was first named by Louis Alexandre Auguste Chevrolat in 1836, with the spelling "''Metazyonycha''", in Dejean's ''Catalogue of Coleoptera''. A ...

'', which shared the same type species, was synonymised with ''Colaspis''. The species of ''Colaspis'' in the Junk-Schenkling catalog were then placed under Bechyné's new name, "''Maecolaspis''", with ''Chrysomela flavicornis'' as the type species. These errors were corrected by W. J. Brown in 1961, who synonymized ''Maecolaspis'' with ''Colaspis''. Despite this, Bechyné continued to use ''Maecolaspis'' as valid, while

Doris Holmes Blake Doris Holmes Blake, ''née'' Doris Mildred Holmes (January 11, 1892 – December 3, 1978), was an American entomologist and scientific illustrator. She was an expert on chrysomelidae (leaf beetles). Life Doris Holmes was raised in a middle-c ...

published several papers on ''Colaspis'' without mentioning Bechyné's ''Maecolaspis''. This effectively created two systems for the taxonomy of the Neotropical leaf beetles, which has frequently confused those studying the Neotropical Eumolpinae. Many species originally placed in ''Colaspis'' were split by Bechyné into several smaller genera, such as ''

Allocolaspis ''Allocolaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. Species * '' Allocolaspis apatura'' Bechyné, 1957 * '' Allocolaspis atrisuturalis'' (Blake, 1976) * '' Allocolaspis belti'' ( Jacoby, 1881) * '' Allocolaspis brunnea'' ...

'', ''

Callicolaspis ''Callicolaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is known from South America. It was formerly considered a synonym of ''Lycaste'' Gistel, 1848, but in 2003 it was restored as a separate genus. ''Lycaste'' itself was ...

'', ''

Percolaspis ''Percolaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is distributed in South America and Central America, though it has also been reported from southern Florida in the United States. It is associated with the plant families ...

'', ''

Nodocolaspis ''Nodocolaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is known from Central America and South America. The genus was first established by the Czech entomologist Jan Bechyné in 1949, as a relative of ''Nodonota'' (now ...

'' and ''

Zenocolaspis ''Zenocolaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is known from North America and South America. There are at least two described species in ''Zenocolaspis''. The genus is very similar to ''Colaspis'' (also known as '' ...

''. The genus requires further subdivision.

Species

These extant species belong to the genus ''Colaspis'' (= ''Maecolaspis''): * ''

Colaspis abdominalis ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are consi ...

Lefèvre Lefèvre is a common family name derived from the original northern French surname Lefebvre. Common variations include Lefevre, LeFevre, Le Fevre, le Fevre, Le Fèvre, le Fèvre, LeFever, Lefevere, Le Fêvre and le Fêvre. Surnames Lefèvre * Lef ...

, 1877 * ''

Colaspis aberrans ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are consi ...

'' ( Bechyné, 1953) * ''

Colaspis achardi ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are consi ...

'' Bechyné, 1949 ** ''Colaspis achardi achardi'' Bechyné, 1949 ** ''Colaspis achardi pseudoachardi'' ( Bechyné, 1950) * ''

Colaspis adducta ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are consi ...

'' Clavareau, 1914 * ''

Colaspis adusta ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are consi ...

, 1885 * ''

Colaspis aenea ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are consi ...

Fabricius Fabricius ( la, smith, german: Schmied, Schmidt) is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *people from the Ancient Roman gens Fabricia: **Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, the first of the Fabricii to move to Rome * Johann Goldsmid (1587� ...

, 1801 * ''

Colaspis aeneicollis ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are con ...

'' Bowditch, 1921 * '' Colaspis aeneola''

Weise __NOTOC__ Weise is a surname, meaning "wise" or "prudent" in German. Notable people with the name include: A * Andreas Weise (born 1986), Swedish singer and songwriter * Agustín Saavedra Weise (born 1943), Bolivian diplomat and writer *Arne We ...

, 1921^g ** ''Colaspis aeneola aeneola''

, 1921 ** ''Colaspis aeneola barticensis'' ( Bechyné, 1951) * ''

Colaspis aerea ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are conside ...

, 1884^g ** ''Colaspis aerea aerea''

, 1884 ** ''Colaspis aerea odetta'' ( Bechyné, 1953) * ''

Colaspis aeruginosa ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are conside ...

'' ( Germar, 1824) ** ''Colaspis aeruginosa aeruginosa'' ( Germar, 1824) ** ''Colaspis aeruginosa tenuesculpta'' ( Bechyné, 1950) * ''

Colaspis affinis ''Colaspis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is one of the largest genera in the subfamily, containing over 200 species, and it is known from both North and South America. A number of species from this genus are con ...

, 1921 * '' Colaspis alcyonea''

Suffrian Christian Wilhelm Ludwig Eduard Suffrian (21 January 1805, Wünsdorf, Teltow-Fläming – 18 August 1876, Bad Rehburg ) was a German entomologist who specialized in Coleoptera especially Chrysomelidae. He was a schoolte