britsnana2:7/20/17 &n
britsnana2: 7/20/17 Dogbane Beetle Class Insecta (Insects)Order Coleoptera (Beetles)Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles)No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)Superfamily Chrysomeloidea (Long-horned and Leaf Beetles)Family Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetles)Subfamily EumolpinaeTribe EumolpiniGenus ChrysochusSpecies auratus (Dogbane Beetle)Explanation of NamesChrysochus auratus (Fabricius 1775)auratus = ‘golden’Numbers8-11 mmIdentificationOblong shape. Shiny, iridescent.Rangetranscontinental (ME-WA to GA-AZ)(1)Foodhosts: Apocynaceae, incl. Apocynum cannabinum and Apocynum androsaemifolium; also reported in asso. w/ common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca, Asclepiadaceae) (2)Life CycleThey mate and lay eggs through the summer. They lay eggs on leaves and stems of host plants and nearby vegetation in masses of egg capsuleslarvae are obligate root feeders; adults eat leaves of larval host -- source link