Trirhabda nitidicollis

Adults can be distinguished from related Trirhabda species by the shiny, metallic green or blue-green elytra with contrasting yellowish margins. The pronotum is narrower than the base of the elytra. Similar species include other Trirhabda beetles, which may require examination of genitalia for definitive identification.

Pinyon-juniper woodland and adjacent shrublands, particularly areas with abundant rabbitbrush (Ericameria nauseosa).

Western North America, including Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and surrounding regions.

Adults are active in summer, with records from late June through July.

Adults feed on foliage of Ericameria nauseosa (rabbitbrush), skeletonizing the leaves by consuming tissue between the veins.

• Ericameria nauseosa - primary host plantAdults feed on foliage; larvae presumably feed on roots or lower stems

Herbivore that may influence rabbitbrush population dynamics through foliage consumption.

• Trirhabda canadensisSimilar size and coloration, but associated with different host plants in more northern and eastern ranges
• Other Trirhabda speciesRequire careful examination of elytral punctation, pronotal shape, and male genitalia for separation

• leaf beetle
• skeletonizing beetle
• rabbitbrush
• Chrysomelidae
• Trirhabda
• western North America
• herbivore
• Ericameria nauseosa

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Eumastacidae | Beetles In The Bush