CHRYSOMELIDAE - LEAF BEETLES
Though apparently diverse in form, the huge family of Leaf Beetles, with over 35,000 species worldwide, are united by a common tarsal formula which, though it appears to be 4-4-4 is actually 5-5-5. The antennae do not arise from frontal tubercles which helps distinguish some species from the Cerambycidae. Leaf Beetles are vegetarian and some species are important economic pests. The taxonomy of the Chrysomelidae is in urgent need of revision and some groups have not been reviewed for over 50 years. As a result classification to species level is not always possible.
We thank Rob Westerduijn and Lech Borowiec for their assistance with the identification of our Leaf Beetle images.
Numbers in brackets after subfamilial names refer to the number of species for which we have images.
Click on the subfamilial links below for access to the image galleries.
Cassidinae - Tortoise Beetles (10), Gyllenhal 1813
Chrysomelinae - Broad-bodied Leaf Beetles (8), Latreille 1802
Criocerinae (1), Latreille 1804
Cryptocephalinae - Casebearers (1), Gyllenhal 1813
Eumolpinae - Ovaloid Leaf Beetles (7), Hope 1840
Galerucinae - Skeletonising Leaf Beetles (17), Latreille 1802
Thanks to Professor Lech Borowiec and Rob Westerduijn for assistance with identification of some of the images in this gallery.
Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law. Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay. Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, Rebbeca Zarza, José Luis Cartes and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
