''Lilioceris egena'', commonly known as black-bellied long-necked goldenrod, is a species of beetle, belonging to the family
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 ...
, subfamily
Criocerinae. The larvae feed on air potato bulbils.
Distribution
''Lilioceris egena'' is native to Southeast Asia, and has been found in China (Anhui, Fujian, Hainan, Hong Kong, Sichuan, and Yunnan Provinces), India (Assam, Karnataka, and Uttarhand), Laos (Vientianne Province), Nepal, Vietnam (Tây Nihn and Ho Chi Minh Provinces), and Singapore.
Description
''Lilioceris egena'' has a reddish-brown or yellowish-brown body colour, a black or dark brown ventral surface. The base of the
scute
A scute () or scutum (Latin: ''scutum''; plural: ''scuta'' "Scutum (shield), shield") is a bony external plate or scale overlaid with horn, as on the shell of a turtle, the skin of crocodilians, and the feet of Bird anatomy#Scales, birds. The ter ...
s has a few
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, ...
and the seta are sparse on the lateral sides of the metathoracic, abdominal and lateral plates. The
prothorax
The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum ( ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on ...
is smooth, with a vertical row of stipples in the middle.
Biological control
It is being released in Florida as a biological control for air potato (''
Dioscorea bulbifera
''Dioscorea bulbifera'' (commonly known as the air potato, air yam, bitter yam, cheeky yam, potato yam, aerial yam, and parsnip yam) is a species of true yam in the yam family, Dioscoreaceae. It is native to Africa, Asia and northern Australia. ...
'') vines. Females lay eggs on the air potatoes' tubers and the larvae feed on them.
See also
*''
Lilioceris cheni
''Lilioceris cheni'', the air potato leaf beetle, is a species of beetle in the genus '' Lilioceris'' that feeds on air potato plants. Air potatoes and the beetles are both native to Asia but have been introduced elsewhere. The air potato plant ...
'', another species that feeds on air potato
*
Scarlet lily beetle
The scarlet lily beetle, red lily beetle, or lily leaf beetle (''Lilioceris lilii''), is a leaf beetle that eats the leaves, stem, buds, and flowers, of lilies, fritillaries and other members of the family Liliaceae. It lays its eggs most ofte ...
, a species that feeds on lily bulbs
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q11179488
Criocerinae
Beetles described in 1922