Yesterday's Lopidea pictures show the bug's red and black aposomatic coloring. This is a common message sent by the Heteroptera (or Hemiptera, if you're old school). "Don't eat me--I bite and I taste bad." You hear it from Monarch butterflies, in orange and black, and this chrysomelid beetle is also a meal of bitterness for small predators.
My inner taxonomist cringes at my use of the specific epithet Odontota dorsalis, the Locust Leaf Miner. I'm quite confident this is a member of the Chrysomelidae, but going for a species name without a key in such a huge beetle family is normally not something I would attempt. However, I collected these images under the locust trees in a fence row, and the pictures at Bugguide.net have filled me with arrogance. In fact, I'm willing to venture that yesterday's Lopidea may be Lopidea robinae, based on its proximity to the locust trees. Pride goeth before a fall, of course. These identifications imply no warranty, and you may even find these bugs palatable.
1 comment:
I've been enjoying your insect close-ups! We have many black locusts in Hannibal -- I'll keep an eye out for the leaf-miners.
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