Ophraella communa, common name ragweed leaf beetle, is a species of beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae.[1]
| Ophraella communa | |
|---|---|
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| Ophraella communa in Pennsylvania | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Chrysomelidae |
| Subfamily: | Galerucinae |
| Tribe: | Galerucini |
| Genus: | Ophraella |
| Species: | O. communa
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| Binomial name | |
| Ophraella communa LeSage, 1986
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Distribution
editThis species is native to North America (Canada, United States and Mexico) and it has been introduced in Asia and Europe, where it arrived in 2013.[2][3][4][5]
Description
editOphraella 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
editThis 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]
References
edit- ^ 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
- ^ ITIS
- ^ 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.
- ^ Shiyake S., Moriya S., Expansion of Ophraella communa LeSage in east Asia, in Insect Nat., vol. 40, 2005, pp. 11-13.
- ^ W. A. Palmer and R. D. Goeden The Host Range of Ophraella communa Lesage (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ 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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