clavate tortoise beetle

(Helocassis clavata)

Conservation Status
clavate tortoise beetle
Photo by Alfredo Colon
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Clavate tortoise beetle is fairly common in North and Central America. In the United States it occurs from the northeast to the Great Plains. It is easily recognized by the wrinkled upper surface with a dark teddy bear-like pattern.

Adults are tortoise-shaped, ¼ to 5 16 (6.5 to 7.5 mm) long, 3 16 to ¼ (5.5 to 6.3 mm) wide, oval when viewed from above, and convex when viewed from the side. The female is larger than the male.

The upper thoracic plate (pronotum) and hardened wing covers (elytra) are green and translucent. The edges are spread out, flattened, and thin, and extend over the head and legs. The front (anterior) edge of the pronotum is broadly rounded. A large, opaque, dark brown spot covers most of the elytra and extends onto the pronotum. The spot resembles a teddy bear, with the the teddy bear’s “head” on the pronotum and the front and hind “legs” reaching the elytral margins. The plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is also dark brown. There is also at least some gold coloration adjacent to the edges of the brown spot. The upper surface of the elytra is very rough with wrinkles, rounded projections, and a prominent peak in the middle behind the scutellum.

The head is completely concealed when viewed from above. The eyes are not notched. The antennae are long but less than half as long as the body. They are mostly pale but some of the terminal segments are black. Segment 3 is slightly longer than segment 2, and segment 8 is distinctly longer than wide. The antennae are extended when at rest. There is no groove on the underside of the prothorax for them to be tucked into. The plate on the face above the mouth (clypeus) is completely horizontal.

The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments. The fourth segment is very short and is concealed within the broadened tip of the third segment, making the tarsus appear to have only four segments. The last segment bears a pair of claws. The dilation at the base of each claw is angular.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Total length: ¼ to 5 16

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

 

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

 

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Adults eat round holes in the leaves.

The larvae carry dried fecal matter over their body, presumably as a form of camouflage. The fecal matter is attached to a forked appendage on the last abdominal segment, and is held suspended over the body.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

 

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

 

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Groundcherry (Physalis spp.) and nightshade (Solanum spp.)

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

24, 29, 30, 82.

 
  6/16/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Fairly common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Coleoptera (beetles)  
 

Suborder

Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles)  
 

Infraorder

Cucujiformia  
 

Superfamily

Chrysomeloidea (leaf beetles and allies)  
 

Family

Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles)  
 

Subfamily

Cassidinae (tortoise and hispine beetles)  
 

Tribe

Cassidini  
 

Genus

Helocassis  
       
 

In World Catalogue of the Cassidinae, published in 1999, Polish taxonomist Lech Borowie proposed transferring eight species from the genus Plagiometriona to the new genus Helocassis. The move was then and now remains controversial. Most North American sources reject the move. Two notable exceptions are Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) and iNaturalist. A discussion on BugGuide.net gives a detailed – even exhaustive – explanation of their reasoning for rejecting the move in 2005. However, by 2022, BugGuide had accepted the move. NatureServe continues to use the name Plagiometriona clavata for this species.

Tortoise Beetle Taxonomy

 
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

clavate tortoise beetle (Helocassis clavata clavata)

clavate tortoise beetle (Helocassis clavata testudinaria)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Cassida clavata

Coptocycla testudinaria

Plagiometriona clavata

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

clavate tortoise beetle

translucent tortoise beetle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Clypeus

On insects, a hardened plate on the face above the upper lip (labrum).

 

Elytra

The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.

 

Pronotum

The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.

 

Scutellum

The exoskeletal plate covering the rearward (posterior) part of the middle segment of the thorax in some insects. In Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, the dorsal, often triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the bases of the front wings. In Diptera, the exoskeletal plate between the abdomen and the thorax.

 

Tarsus

On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Alfredo Colon

 
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Laurie Olesen

 
 

Hello. I don't know if you are still keeping track of these little things. But I found one at Boot Lake SNA yesterday. Anoka County, MN.

  clavate tortoise beetle  
 

Thomas Dilliplane

 
 

Found outdoors in back yard.

 
    clavate tortoise beetle   clavate tortoise beetle  
           
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Clavate Tortoise Beetle (Plagiometriona clavata)
Andree Reno Sanborn
  Clavate Tortoise Beetle (Plagiometriona clavata)  

 

slideshow

       
 
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About

Published on May 26, 2012

Behold my first Clavate Tortoise Beetle! I have seen this interesting insect in my insect book for decades and FINALLY get to see a real one. Of course, as with any unique looking insect, I only found ONE.

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 
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Be sure to include a location.
 
  Alfredo Colon
8/20/2022

Location: Albany, NY

clavate tortoise beetle  
  Anne Peckham
9/9/2022

Location: Peterborough Ontario Canada

 
  Alfredo Colon
8/17/2022

Location: Albany, NY

clavate tortoise beetle  
  Alfredo Colon
8/8/2022

Location: Albany, NY

clavate tortoise beetle  
  Alfredo Colon
8/6/2022

Location: Albany, NY

clavate tortoise beetle  
  Alfredo Colon
6/3/2021

Location: Woodbury, MN

clavate tortoise beetle  
  Laurie Olesen
5/27/2022

Location: Boot Lake SNA, Anoka County, MN

Hello. I don't know if you are still keeping track of these little things. But I found one at Boot Lake SNA yesterday. Anoka County, MN.

clavate tortoise beetle  
  Thomas Dilliplane
6/5/2021

Location: Media, Pennsylvania 19063

Found outdoors in back yard.

clavate tortoise beetle  
  Wendy Steele
6/8/2020

Location: Brooklyn Park MN

I've seen many on my potato leaves in the garden. Today I was pulling weeds, sweaty and dirty and my daughter said, "mom, you have some dirt or something on your face". I went to brush it away and it was attached. It felt hard, like one of these beetles and it left a bloody spot on my face. Right now it itches and is inflamed. Are they known to bite? Also, how do they reproduce?

 
  John Valo
6/9/2020

As to the first question, I don’t know about tortoise beetles specifically, but some beetles do bite. Here is a link from Terminix:

ARE BEETLES ABLE TO BITE?

As to the second question... in the usual manner.

 
  Alfredo Colon
7/12/2018

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

clavate tortoise beetle  
           
 
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Created: 1/7/2019

Last Updated:

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