Spotted tortoise beetle (Aspidimorpha miliaris)

Spotted tortoise beetle (Aspidimorpha miliaris) is a species of insect belonging to the family Chrysomelidae. It is a cosmopolitan species, reaching up to 15 mm in width, and is frequently found on plants within the families Ipomoeaceae, Convolvulaceae, and Cucurbitaceae. This species undergoes complete metamorphosis (holometabolism), consisting of egg, larva, pupa, and adult (imago) stages.

The larvae exhibit gregarious behavior, living in groups. While the adults possess wings and can fly from one leaf to another, they more commonly move by walking rapidly across the surfaces of leaves and stems to conserve energy.

A. miliaris completes its life cycle in 83–94 days; the duration from the egg phase to the emergence of the pupa ranges from 75–82 days, followed by a pre-reproductive period of 8–12 days. Eggs are laid in clusters within an ootheca (egg case), with each cluster containing 20 yellow-orange eggs. A single female is capable of producing 15 oothecae throughout her lifetime.

The eggs are oval-shaped and reddish-yellow, housed within a grayish-brown ootheca, with an incubation period of 6–14 days. The pupa is yellowish with black bristles on its dorsal side, and this stage lasts for 10–14 days. The adult beetle has a turtle-like body shape, with its elytra (hardened forewings) predominantly yellow in color.

TAXON

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Superfamily: Chrysomeloidea
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Cassidinae
Tribe: Aspidimorphini
Genus: Aspidimorpha Hope (1840)
Species: Aspidimorpha miliaris Fabricius (1775)

VERNACULAR NAME

Chinese (simplified): 星斑梳龟甲
Chinese (traditional): 大黑星龜金花蟲 - 星斑梳龜甲
English: Spotted tortoise beetle, Sweetpotato leaf beetle, Asian spotted tortoise beetle
German: Gepunkteter Schildkäfer
Indonesia: Kepik
Japanese: ゴマダラジンガサハムシ
Java: Kepik

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