Acalymma blandulum
(J.L. LeConte, 1868)
Acalymma blandulum is a skeletonizing leaf beetle in the Chrysomelidae. The was revised taxonomically in 1980, which established three recognized with distinct geographic distributions in the southwestern United States and Mexico. It belongs to the Acalymma, which includes several agriculturally significant cucurbit-feeding species.


Pronunciation
How to pronounce Acalymma blandulum: /əˈkælɪmə ˈblændjʊləm/
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Images
Distribution
Found in the United States (Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) and Mexico. Three have distinct ranges: A. blandulum blandulum occurs in the U.S. states listed plus Mexican states from Chiapas north to Zacatecas; A. blandulum nigriventre is restricted to Chihuahua, Durango, Jalisco, Mexico, and Zacatecas; A. blandulum yucatanense occurs in Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán on the Yucatán Peninsula.
Similar Taxa
- Acalymma vittatumBoth are congeneric skeletonizing leaf beetles with similar body plans; A. vittatum is the eastern striped cucumber and is a major agricultural pest of cucurbits, whereas A. blandulum has not been documented as a significant crop pest
- Acalymma trivittatumWestern striped cucumber beetle, also congeneric and morphologically similar; distinguished by distribution west of the Rocky Mountains and different elytral stripe patterns
Sources and further reading
- BugGuide
- Wikipedia
- GBIF taxonomy match
- iNaturalist taxon
- NCBI Taxonomy
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