Cucurbit-specialists
Guides
Luperini
Luperini is a tribe of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) within the large subfamily Galerucinae, containing approximately 5800 species. The tribe includes economically significant genera such as Diabrotica, Acalymma, and Aulacophora, many of which are associated with cucurbit host plants. Members exhibit specialized chemical ecology involving detection of cucurbitacins, bitter triterpenoid compounds that serve as kairomones for host location.