Pseudomordellina hattorii

Pseudomordellina hattorii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Mordellidae
Genus:	Pseudomordellina
Species:	P. hattorii
Binomial name
Pseudomordellina hattorii (Tokeji, 1953)

Pseudomordellina hattorii is a species of tumbling flower beetle in the family Mordellidae. It is known for inducing galls on the stems of plants in the genus Artemisia . Originally known only from Japan, it is now an introduced species in the Eastern United States. It is the first gall-inducing mordellid beetle to be recorded in North America. ^[1]

Description

The galls induced by P. hattorii form on the stems of its host plant, common mugwort ( Artemisia vulgaris ), in North America.

History

Observations of unknown stem galls on common mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) by community naturalists in the Eastern United States led to the discovery of the species' presence in North America. ^{[1] [2]}

Range

P. hattorii is native to Japan. It is now established as an introduced species in North America, where previously unknown stem galls associated with the beetle have been observed in the Eastern United States since at least 2011. ^{[1] [3]}

References

1. Mapes, Carol C.; Lawrence, Joshua T.; Setliff, Gregory P.; Looney, Chris; Elsayed, Ayman Khamis; Datko, Ashton C.; Friehauf, Kurt; Bohn, Emily; Falkowski, Julia; Wink, Zach W.; Tsuru, Tomoyuki K. (2025-08-15). "First Record of a Gall-Inducing Mordellid in North America: Pseudomordellina hattorii (Coleoptera: Mordellidae) Induces Galls on Common Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris in the Northeastern United States". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 151 (2): 267–276. doi:10.3157/061.151.0203. ISSN   0002-8320.
2. "iNaturalist: Unknown stem galls on Common Mugwort" . Retrieved 2025-09-13.
3. "Pseudomordellina hattorii". iNaturalist. Retrieved 13 September 2025.