common name: tortoise beetle
scientific name: Chelymorpha cribraria (Fabricius) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
In September of 1993, a single specimen of an exotic tortoise beetle was collected on a species
of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in a weedy lot in Davie, Broward County. Further collecting
turned up additional specimens at the original site and at other localities in Broward County.
The beetle was identified as Chelymorpha cribraria (Fabricius), a widely distributed
Neotropical species known to feed on sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) and other
morning glories. Subsequent surveys and collecting have revealed populations of C. cribraria
at other localities in Dade and Monroe counties.
This species is distributed throughout South America and the Antilles. Buzzi (1988) recorded
C. cribraria from Brazil, Cayenne, Colombia, Guadeloupe, and Paraguay. There are
specimens in the Florida State Collection of Arthropods from Antigua, Argentina, Dominican
Republic, and Panama. In Florida, it has been collected in the following localities: Broward
County - Davie, Hallandale; Dade County - Camp Mahachee, Cape Florida State Park, Matheson
Hammock, Virginia Key; Monroe County - Key Largo State Botanical Site.
The genus Chelymorpha Boheman contains more than 100 species, which are mostly
Neotropical in distribution. Two species have been recorded (Blatchley 1924) previously from
Florida: C. cassidea (Fabricius) and C. geniculata Boheman. The endemic Florida C.
geniculata has had a checkered taxonomic history. It is often considered either a synonym or
subspecies of C. cassidea (Balbaugh and Hays 1972). Both are uniformly tan to red-brown in
color with 12 to 14 black spots on the elytra and four to six on the pronotum. Chelymorpha
cribraria is extremely polymorphic in color (Vasconcellos-Neto 1988), and most of the color
forms have been described as separate species. Only two color forms have been found in
Florida so far. The most common color form in Florida is bicolored, with pronotum black and
elytra brick-red or tan. Much less common is the color form having a tan ground color with
metallic reflections, numerous black speckles, and longitudinal red stripes on the elytra.
adult, with antennae and legs extended
adult, with antennae and legs drawn in
Vasconcellos-Neto (1988) presented a model consisting of six tightly-linked genes responsible
for color in C. cribraria. He found eight color forms produced from 21 genotypes, and
hypothesized that the stable polymorphism in C. cribraria is maintained "... by selection
through visually oriented predators." Adult C. cribraria are unpalatable to some predators. In
Brazil, C. cribraria appears to belong to at least six different mimicry groups with two to four
beetle species in each group.
Buzzi (1988) reviewed the biology of Neotropical cassidines and gave the following composite
account of several species of Brazilian Chelymorpha, including C. cribraria: Eggs are glued
to leaves of the host plant in clusters; they hatch in six to eight days. There are five larval
instars and time spent in the larval stage ranges from 13 to 18 days. Larvae possess a fecal
fork and carry their feces over their body. This camouflage is thought to provide protection
from predators and parasitoids. Pupation, which takes place on the host plant and under the
fecal shield, lasts eight to 10 days. Females live an average of six months and lay about 1,500
eggs.
Chelymorpha cribraria has been recorded in the Neotropics from several species of Ipomoea,
such as I. cairica (L.) Sweet. Per., I. cardiophylla Gray, and I. batatas (sweet potato). In Florida, it has been collected on various morning glories, but the only two that have been
identified to species are I. indica (Burm. f.) Merr. and I. pes-capre (L.) R. Br., railroad vine. The two morning glories on Florida's list of endangered plants, Ipomoea microdactyla Griseb.
and I. tensuissima Choisy (Coile 1994), occur in the areas where C. cribraria is established.
I thank E.G. Riley, Texas A&M University, for his help in identifying C. cribraria; Deborah L. Matthews and John Watts, University of Florida, for bringing the first specimen to my attention; Bonnie Coy, FDACS, for additional surveys; Roy Morris, Lakeland, for the specimen from Key Largo; and Jim Duquesnel, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, for finding the population of C. cribraria at Cape Florida.
- Balsbaugh Jr. EU, Hays KL. 1972. The leaf beetles of Alabama (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Auburn University, Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 441. 223 p.
- Blatchley WS. 1924. The Chrysomelidae of Florida. The Florida Entomologist 7: 33-39; 7: 49-57; 8: 1-7; 8: 17-23; 8: 39-46.
- Buzzi ZJ. 1988. Biology of Neotropical Cassidinae. pp. 559-580. In Jolivet P, Petipierre E, Hsiao TH (eds.). Biology of Chrysomelidae. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht.
- Coile NC. 1994. Florida's endangered and threatened plants. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Entomology, Nematology and Plant Pathology - Botany Contribution No. 29. 56 unnumbered p.
- Vasconcellos-Neto J. 1988. Genetics of Chelymorpha cribraria, Cassidinae: colour patterns and their ecological meanings. pp. 217-232. In P. Jolivet, E. Petitpierre, and T.H. Hsiao (eds.). Biology of Chrysomelidae. Kluwer Academic Publishers,Dordrecht.
Author: Michael C. Thomas, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry.
Originally published as DPI Entomology Circular No. 363.
Photographs: Division of Plant Industry and the University of Florida
Project Coordinator: Thomas R. Fasulo, University of Florida
Publication Number: EENY-89
Publication Date: June 1999
Copyright 1999 University of Florida
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