(Labidomera clivicollis)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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IUCN Red List | not listed |
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NatureServe | NNR - Unranked |
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Minnesota | not listed |
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Description |
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Swamp milkweed leaf beetle is a relatively large, brightly colored leaf beetle. Adults are usually 5 ⁄16″ to 7 ⁄16″ long but in favorable conditions may be up to ½″ in length. The body is oval when viewed from above (dorsally); and strongly convex, dome-shaped, when viewed from the side (laterally). The hardened plate on the upper side of the thorax (pronotum) is black, unmarked, and three times as wide as long, nearly as wide as the base of the hardened forewings (elytra). The elytra are usually orange, sometimes yellowish-orange or orangish-yellow, and marked with black or bluish-black spots. The pattern of spots is highly variable. They are in four rows in a 6-4-4-2 pattern (counting both elytra). The upper (dorsal) spots in row 2 are large, and spread over the junction of the two elytra. They often join with the spots in row 1 forming an “X”. The remaining spots are sometimes joined with adjacent spots, sometimes faint and barely visible. The small triangular plate at the base of the elytra (scutellum) is black. The head is black and is partially visible when viewed from above. The antennae are short, less than half as long as the body. They are weakly clubbed (clavate), gradually enlarged as they approach the tip. The eyes are not notched. The legs are metallic bluish-black. 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 larva looks like a tiny, blackish alligator with numerous spines and six legs. |
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Size |
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5 ⁄16″ to 7 ⁄16″ |
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Similar Species |
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Habitat |
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Marshy areas. |
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Biology |
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Season |
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Two generations: early June to mid-July and September |
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Behavior |
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Adults are solitary. They are active during the day. They can fly but only for short distances. When feeding, they cut several veins on the leaf margin to “bleed out” the milky latex that would otherwise make feeding difficult. After hatching, a larva may cannibalize nearby eggs and smaller larvae. Like the monarch caterpillar, the beetle larva stores cardiac glycosides, present in all milkweeds, in its body. This makes the larva and the adult poisonous and unpalatable to potential predators. |
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Life Cycle |
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Eggs are laid on the underside of host plant leaves. The larvae moult four times, drop to the ground, burrow into the soil, and pupate. The last generation of adults overwinter in leaf litter. |
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Larva Food |
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Larvae are found on the same species that adults feed on. |
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Adult Food |
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In Minnesota, adults feed exclusively on milkweeds, mostly swamp milkweed but also common milkweed and possibly others, and on the invasive vine black swallowwort. In southwestern United States they also feed on twinevine. |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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9/18/2022 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Occasional |
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Taxonomy |
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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 |
Chrysomelinae (broad-bodied leaf beetles) | ||
Tribe |
Doryphorini | ||
Subtribe |
Doryphorina | ||
Genus |
Labidomera | ||
Synonyms |
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Common Names |
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milkweed leaf beetle swamp milkweed leaf beetle |
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Glossary
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.
Visitor Photos |
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Babette Kis |
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Labidomera clivicollis swamp milkweed leaf beetle Labidomera clivicollis, swamp milkweed leaf beetle, on wild bergamot. There were a number of common milkweed plants nearby, but no swamp milkweed plants for several hundred feet. Photo was taken on Sept. 7, 2022 at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI. |
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Mike Poeppe |
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Dan W. Andree |
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Milkweed Leaf Beetle larvae on a Milkweed plant... I had no idea what it was until I looked it up. I figured it must be some kind of larvae since it looked soft bodied etc. |
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Alfredo Colon |
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Larva |
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Laura Baxley |
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Swamp milkweed beetle |
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DeWaine Tollefsrud |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Visitor Videos |
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Share your video of this insect. |
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Other Videos |
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Egg Cannibalism (Oophagy) in Hatchling Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetles, Labidomera clivicollis naturalistguy |
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About
Published on Sep 2, 2011 To the right of the sequence, a newly hatched swamp milkweed leaf beetle hammers on an egg. |
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Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Chrysomelidae: Labidomera clivicollis) on Petiole Carl Barrentine |
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About
Published on Jun 29, 2012 Photographed at Emerado, North Dakota (29 June 2012). Thank you to Blaine Mathison (@Bugguide.net) for confirming the identity of this specimen! |
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Swamp milkweed leaf beetle larva feeding on the flower buds of a swamp milkweed thelifeofyourtime |
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About
Published on Jul 11, 2011 I found this plump larva of a swamp milkweed leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Labidomera clivicollis) feeding on the flower buds of a swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata, Asclepiadaceae). Filmed 07/10/2011 in a floodplain along the River Raisin near Blissfield Michigan. |
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Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Chrysomelidae: Labidomera clivicollis) on Leaf Carl Barrentine |
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About
Published on Aug 11, 2010 Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (10 August 2010). |
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Swamp Milkweed Leaf Beetle (Chrysomelidae: Labidomera clivicollis) Close-up Carl Barrentine |
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About
Published on Aug 20, 2010 Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (20 August 2010). Go here to see fabulous images as well aslearn more about the biology of this species: http://www.cirrusimage.com/beetles_leaf_Labidomera_clivicollis.htm |
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