Grape Colaspis

Colaspis brunnea (Fabricius)

Galleruca brunnea Fabricius, 1798:94.

Colaspis brunnea.—Fabricius, 1801:411.—Olivier, 1808:891.— Crotch, 1873:44.—Horn, 1892:223.—Barber, 1937:198.

DESCRIPTION.—Length of type specimen 4.5 mm, elongate oblong oval, shining, yellow brown above with dark margins, below with prosternum reddish brown but not as brown as breast, abdomen even deeper brown, almost piceous, with apex paler, densely punctate, elytra evenly costate.

Head with interocular space more than half width of head, occiput, front, and clypeus densely punctate, a slight depression on front, labrum pale with anterior margin widely and shallowly emarginate, jaws dark, head and prothorax slightly deeper yellow than elytra. Antennae in type specimen broken with only the four basal joints of one antenna left, pale yellow. Prothorax wider than long with a tooth at each corner, sides widest below middle and faintly angulate, surface densely punctate with narrow explanate margin a little deeper reddish brown. Prosternum punctate, reddish brown. Scutellum pale yellow brown. Elytra a little wider than prothorax and about three times as long with 8 costae of approximately same width on each elytron and between first and second costae single rows of punctures, in third interval and the two following irregularly double rows of punctures becoming single near apex, 9th interval near margin with single row of punctures. Margin and epipleura deep brown, almost piceous. Body beneath with prosternum paler than breast, which is dark brown and abdomen still darker except apex which is pale. Only one anterior leg left with first tarsal joint broad, indicating the specimen is a male, one hind leg, which is entire, rest missing. Length 4.5 mm; width 2.1 mm.

TYPE.—Male, in Fabricius’ collection, Copenhagen, Denmark.

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Habitat in America. Dom Hybner.

Colaspis brunnea, the grape colaspis, is a species of leaf beetle from North America. It mainly occurs in the eastern United States. It is a pest of crop such as corn and soybeans, but damage by it has not been documented as economically significant. It is univoltine, and overwinters in the soil as larvae.

The adults are brown-colored (brunnea is Latin for brown) and are around 5 mm in length. The elytra have a series of parallel rows of "puncture" marks. The larvae are scarabaeiform grub with white-grey bodies and orange head capsules, and are between 5 and 6.5 mm long at the 10th instar.