Milkweed Leaf Beetle - Labidomera clivicollis
Order: Coleoptera / Family: Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetles)
Adults of this species are intimately associated with the milkweed plant, Asclepias spp.
Live adult milkweed leaf beetles photographed at Winfield, IL. USA.









The leaf beetles (family Chrysomelidae) generally have antennae 1/2 their body length or less, and are characterized by their bright metallic colors. The adult beetles feed on leaves and flowers; the larvae attack roots, eat leaves, or tunnel within them. Many beetles of this family are important agricultural pests. There are roughly 1,400 species in North America.

Habitat: Meadows and forest clearings, roadsides / Food: Dogbane and other members of the milkweed family / Life cycle: eggs are laid on the host plant or on the ground; larvae tunnel through soil to roots, feed, and pupate in soil.
Here is an interesting photo essay on the extreme variability of the cryptic markings on this species of beetle.


Milkweed Leaf Beetles

"Plant chemical defenses can be eaten by herbivores, stored, and used in defense against predators. To be effective defensive agents, the sequestered chemicals cannot be metabolized into inactive products. Utilizing plant chemicals can be costly to herbivores because it often requires specialized handling, storage, and modification (Bowers 1992). This cost can be seen when plants that utilize plant chemicals are compared to those plants that do not in a situation where herbivores are excluded. Caterpillar and adult monarch butterflies store cardiac glycosides from milkweed, making these organisms distasteful. After eating a monarch caterpillar or butterfly, its bird predator will vomit and will avoid eating similar individuals in the future (Huheey 1984). Species that feed on milkweeds are usually aposematically colored. Aposomatic species are those that advertise their distastefulness by being brightly colored (see Guilford 1990). Two different species of milkweed bug in the family Hemiptera, Lygaeus kalmii and Oncopeltus fasciatus, are thus colored, with bright orange and black markings."* As you can see, the milkweed leaf beetle shares the same color-scheme as the milkweed bugs and the Monarch and Viceroy butterflies. Predators therefor are thought to shun any insects with these colors.
*From The Wikipedia "Herbivore adaptations to plant defense."


Leaf Beetles in Copulo
 

 
 

  

              
 
       web       www.cirrusimage.com