Pentispa melanura

Pentispa melanura
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Chrysomelidae
Genus:	Pentispa
Species:	P. melanura
Binomial name
Pentispa melanura (Chapuis, 1877)
Synonyms
Uroplata (Pentispa) melanuraChapuis, 1877 Microrhopala dimidiataHorn, 1883

Pentispa melanura is a species of leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae. It is found in Central America and North America, ^{[1] [2] [3]} where it has been recorded from the United States (Texas), Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Description

The vertex is trisulcate and the interocular space is moderately produced. The clypeus is transverse, produced and semilunate. The antennae are black and robust. The thorax is transverse, the sides converging from the base to the apex, distinctly angulate. The upper surface is entirely covered with coarse punctures. The elytra are parallel on the sides, rounded at the apex, finely serrulate (more strongly on the apical margin). Each elytron has eight, at the extreme base with nine, rows of punctures, the second, fourth, and sixth interspaces, together with the suture, costate. ^[4]

Biology

Although the food plant is unknown, adults have been collected on Viguiera dentata , Verbesina microptera and Verbesina virginica . ^[5]

References

1. "Pentispa melanura Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
2. "Pentispa melanura". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
3. "Pentispa melanura species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
4. Biologia Centrali-Americana: Insecta (Coleoptera) Vol. VI. part 2 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
5. Staines, C.L. (2012). "Hispines of the World: Tribe Chalepini" (PDF). USDA/APHIS/PPQ Science and Technology and National Natural History Museum. Retrieved August 26, 2025.

Further reading

• Borowiec, Lech (1999). A world catalogue of the Cassidinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Biologicae Silesiae. ISBN   978-83-909804-4-7.
• Lobl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2013). Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 6: Chrysomeloidea. Apollo Books. ISBN   978-90-04-26091-7.