Ophraella communa

Ophraella communa, common name ragweed leaf beetle, is a species of beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae.[1]

Imago and larva of Ophraella communa on leaves of Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Ophraella communa
Ophraella communa on flower of Helianthus tuberosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Suborder:
Polyphaga
Superfamily:
Chrysomeloidea
Family:
Chrysomelidae
Genus:
Ophraella
Species:
O. communa
Binomial name
Ophraella communa
LeSage, 1986

Distribution

This species is endemic to the Middle and North America (Canada, United States and Mexico) and it has been introduced in Southern Asia and in Europe, where it landed in 2013.[2][3][4][5]

Description

Ophraella communa can reach a length of 3.4–4.1 millimetres (0.13–0.16 in) in males, of 3.9–4.3 millimetres (0.15–0.17 in) in females. The head is yellowish, with dark brown spots at the back. Body is coarsely punctured. Antennae are dark brown. Pronotum is yellowish or pale brown, with three black or dark brown spots. Elytra are yellowish or pale brown and show dark brown longitudinal stripes.[6]

Biology

This species feeds almost exclusively (oligophagy) on leaves and flowers of the family Asteraceae tribe Heliantheae, e.g. sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) and rough cockleburs (Xanthium strumarium), with a marked predilection for common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), which is invasive in Europe and Asia.[7][6]

The eggs are laid on the underside of young leaves of the host plants. The eggs are pear-shaped, with an hexagonal microsculpture. They are at first yellow, but quickly change their color to orange. Before the pupation, the beetles form cocoons on a leaf tip. Pupation lasts one to two weeks. After hatching, the adults remain on their host plants, but later they can migrate up to 25 km within one day.[6]

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References
  1. Riley, Edward G., Shawn M. Clark, and Terry N. Seeno (2003) Catalog of the leaf beetles of America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Megalopodidae, Orsodacnidae and Chrysomelidae, excluding Bruchinae), Coleopterists Society Special Publication no. 1
  2. ITIS
  3. H Müller-Schärer, S T E Lommen, M Rossinelli, M Bonini, M Boriani, G Bosio, U Schaffner: Ophraella communa, the ragweed leaf beetle, has successfully landed in Europe: fortunate coincidence or threat? 25 January 2014, doi:10.1111/wre.12072.
  4. Shiyake S., Moriya S., Expansion of Ophraella communa LeSage in east Asia, in Insect Nat., vol. 40, 2005, pp. 11-13.
  5. W. A. Palmer and R. D. Goeden The Host Range of Ophraella communa Lesage (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
  6. LeSage L., A taxonomic monograph of the Nearctic galerucine genus Ophraella Wilcox (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, vol. 133, 1986, pp. 3–75.
  7. Zhenjun Cao, Hongyuan Wang, Ling Meng, Baoping Li: Risk to nontarget plants from Ophraella communa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a potential biological control agent of alien invasive weed Ambrosia artemisiifolia (Asteraceae) in China.In: Applied Entomology and Zoology, doi:10.1007/s13355-011-0048-8.


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