Colaspis floridana

Schaeffer, 1934

Colaspis floridana is a small in the , first described by Charles Schaeffer in 1934 as a variety of Colaspis brunnea and elevated to full rank by Doris Blake in 1974. It occurs in the southeastern United States, with records from Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The species feeds on leaves of various plants including species and ornamentals, though it has not been reported as an economically damaging pest.

Colaspis floridana by the Smithsonian. Used under a CC0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Colaspis floridana: //kəˈlæspɪs flɔˈrɪdɑːnə//

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Identification

Distinguished from the closely related Colaspis brunnea by the structure of the elytral : in C. floridana, the first two costae are wider and separated by a single row of punctures, whereas in C. brunnea they are narrower with different spacing. The two also differ in coloration, with C. floridana being paler reddish- compared to the darker brown of C. brunnea.

Images

Distribution

Southeastern United States: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina

Diet

feed on leaves of a wide range of plants including (soybean, okra, peanut) and ornamental plants (rose, crapemyrtle). likely feed underground on roots of grasses and forbs, based on similarity to related species.

Host Associations

Glycine max - feedingsoybean
Abelmoschus esculentus - feedingokra
Arachis hypogaea - feedingpeanut
Rosa - feedingrose
Lagerstroemia - feedingcrapemyrtle

Life Cycle

feed underground on roots, overwinter underground, and emerge as the following year. This pattern is inferred from closely related such as C. brunnea, as specific studies of C. floridana larvae have not been published.

Human Relevance

Has been observed feeding on leaves of several agricultural and ornamental , but has not been reported as an economically damaging pest. Not considered a significant agricultural pest.

Similar Taxa

Colaspis brunneaVery similar in overall appearance; distinguished by narrower first two elytral with different puncture spacing, and darker coloration

More Details

Taxonomic history

Originally described as a variety of Colaspis brunnea by Schaeffer in 1933 (published 1934), then elevated to full rank by Blake in 1974. A later species described under the same name by Blake in 1977 was found to be a homonym and was renamed C. pseudofavosa by Edward Riley.