Aphthona abdominalis

Taxobox
name = "Aphthona abdominalis"


image_width = 250px
image_caption =
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Coleoptera
familia = Chrysomelidae
genus = "Aphthona"
species = "A. abdominalis"
binomial = "Aphthona abdominalis"
binomial_authority = Duftschmid, 1825

"Aphthona abdominalis" is a species of leaf beetle known as the minute spurge flea beetle. It is used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious weed leafy spurge ("Euphorbia esula")

The adult beetle is light orange with a black abdomen and only about 2 millimeters long. The female lays up to 100 eggs on or near leafy spurge, its host plant. The larva emerges and feeds on the roots of the plant, while the adult eats the leaves and flowers of the plant. Both larva and adult inflict damage on the plant by feeding. In its native range this beetle feeds on leafy spurge and other closely related plants. It is not known to attack other types of plants.

This beetle is native to Eurasia. It was first released as a biocontrol agent for leafy spurge in the United States in the early 1990s. It is not currently established. This beetle is used for biocontrol less often than other "Aphthona" species.

External links

* [http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/weedfeeders/a.abdominalis.html Cornell Biocontrol Profile]

References

Coombs, E. M., et al., Eds. (2004). "Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the United States". Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 235.