The Eumolpinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or

Chrysomelidae 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 ...

. 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. Typical coloration for this subfamily of beetles ranges from bright yellow to dark red. Many species are

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear gradually to change colour as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Iridescence is caused by wave interference of light in microstruc ...

or brilliantly metallic blue or green in appearance.

Description

Eumolpinae can be recognized at first sight by their rounded thoraces, more or less spherical or bell-shaped, but always significantly narrower than the mesothorax as covered by the elytra. Additional features include a small head set deeply into the thorax, and usually well-developed legs. They generally resemble other Chrysomelidae, but differ in having front coxae rounded and third tarsal segment bilobed beneath. Many are metallic, or yellow and spotted. The dogbane beetle ('' Chrysochus auratus''), for instance, is very attractive—iridescent blue-green with a coppery tinge, it measures 8–10 mm, and is found on dogbane and milkweed. Some, such as members of the genus ''Macrocoma'', are unusually

seta In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae, ...

ceous and with unusually prominent

mandible In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

s for members of the family Chrysomelidae.

Distribution

The Eumolpinae are distributed worldwide. They are numerous in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately ...

, particularly in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

tropical Africa The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

, but are progressively less common towards the north. They have a high

species richness Species richness is the number of different species represented in an community (ecology), ecological community, landscape or region. Species richness is simply a count of species, and it does not take into account the Abundance (ecology), abunda ...

Gallery

File:Macrocoma rubripes (Schaufuss, 1862) male (16633879489).png, ''Macrocoma rubripes'', a setaceous species File:Brachypnoea.jpg, ''

Brachypnoea ''Brachypnoea'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is mostly found in the Neotropical realm, though there are also eight known species in the Nearctic realm. The genus was originally named ''Noda'', named by Chevro ...

'' sp. File:Dogbane Beetle - Chrysochus auratus, Meadowood Farm SRMA, Mason Neck, Virginia.jpg,

Dogbane Beetle ''Chrysochus auratus'', more commonly known as the dogbane beetle, is a leaf beetle primarily found in the eastern United States. The beetle is approximately 8 to 11 mm in length, and possesses an oblong and convex shape. This beetle has two pair ...

- ''Chrysochus auratus''

Tribes

The number of tribes in the subfamily varies depending on the author. According to a classification from 2011, for instance, there are 12 tribes: *

Bromiini Bromiini (or Adoxini) is a tribe of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. The tribe contains approximately 120 genera, which are found worldwide. They are generally thought to be an artificial group, often with a subcylindrical prothorax with ...

Baly, 1865 (1863) – also known as "Adoxini" in some classifications; some authors split this into additional tribes such as "Myochroini" and "Scelodontini". *

Caryonodini ''Caryonoda'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is considered either the only member of the tribe Caryonodini, or a member of the tribe Eumolpini. It contains six species from South America, and a single species from Nic ...

Bechyné, 1951 – contains only ''

Caryonoda ''Caryonoda'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is considered either the only member of the tribe Caryonodini, or a member of the tribe Eumolpini. It contains six species from South America, and a single species from Nic ...

''. *

Cubispini Cubispini is a tribe of leaf beetles from the Neotropical realm. It is classified within either the Eumolpinae or the Cassidinae. It was established by Francisco Monrós in 1954 to contain the genus ''Cubispa'', which was originally placed in the ...

Monrós, 1954 – contains only ''

Cubispa ''Cubispa'' is a genus of leaf beetles consisting of two species from Central America and the Caribbean. It is classified within the tribe Cubispini, which is placed within either the Eumolpinae or the Cassidinae. Beetles in the genus are wingle ...

'' and ''

Lobispa ''Lobispa'' is a genus of leaf beetles consisting of three species from Central America and northern South America. It is classified within the tribe Cubispini, which is placed within the subfamily Eumolpinae. The genus superficially resembles th ...

''; some authors exclude this tribe from Eumolpinae and retain it within

Cassidinae The Cassidinae (tortoise and leaf-mining beetles) are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. The antennae arise close to each other and some members have the pronotal and elytral edges extended to the side and covering the legs so a ...

instead. *

Eumolpini Eumolpini is a tribe of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is the largest tribe in the subfamily, with approximately 170 genera found worldwide. Members of the tribe almost always have a longitudinal median groove on the pygidium, which ...

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

, 1840 – also known as "Colaspoidini" in some classifications; some authors split this into additional tribes such as "Iphimeini" and "Endocephalini". * Euryopini Chapuis, 1874 – also known as "Colasposomini" in some classifications. *

Habrophorini Habrophorini is a tribe of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It was first established in 1969 by Czech entomologists Jan Bechyné and Bohumila Špringlová de Bechyné for two genera, ''Habrophora'' and '' Psathyrocerus''. They are distri ...

Bechyné & Špringlová de Bechyné, 1969 – contains only ''

Habrophora ''Habrophora'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is distributed in Central America, South America, and the West Indies. It is placed in the tribe Habrophorini with the related genus '' Psathyrocerus''. Species * '' Hab ...

'' and '' Psathyrocerus''. * Hemydacnini Bechyné, 1951 – contains only '' Hemydacne'' and '' Colasita''. * Megascelidini Chapuis, 1874 – contains only ''

Megascelis ''Megascelis'' is a genus of leaf beetles in the subfamily Eumolpinae. It is known from both North America, North and South America. There are around 140 described species in ''Megascelis''. The genus is traditionally placed in the tribe Megasce ...

'' and '' Mariamela''; formerly considered a separate subfamily. * Merodini Chapuis, 1874 – contains only '' Meroda''. * Pygomolpini Bechyné, 1949 – contains only '' Pygomolpus''. * Rosiroiini Bechyné, 1950 – contains only '' Rosiroia''. * Typophorini Baly, 1865 – also known as "Nodinini" in some classifications; some authors split this into additional tribes such as "Metachromini". The tribe Eupalini was proposed in 2005 for the genus '' Eupales'' (also known as ''Floricola''). However, the name "Eupalini" was not explicitly indicated as new, so it is currently considered an unavailable name according to the

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its formal author, t ...

. The subfamily Spilopyrinae was formerly considered a tribe of Eumolpinae, while recently the subfamily

Synetinae The Synetinae are a small subfamily within the leaf beetle family (Chrysomelidae). They are found entirely within the Holarctic, mainly in North America but also appearing in parts of Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the N ...

has sometimes been grouped within Eumolpinae.

References

External links