Texas Beetle Information

Return to Texas Entomology - Compiled by Mike Quinn

Charlie Brown Flea Beetle

Capraita sexmaculata (Illiger)

Family Chrysomelidae, Subfamily Galerucinae, Tribe Alticini

Woburn, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts
July 5, 2005 (Tom Murray)

State Records for Capraita sexmaculata

State Record Source: (Riley et al. 2003)

Range: Texas north to South Dakota, east to Massachusetts, south to Florida (Riley et al. 2003).

Larval Hosts:

Apparently associated with Oleaceae. It has been recorded from Chionanthus virginicus, Fraxinus americana, Fraxinus berlandieriana, and Forestiera ligustrina (Clark et al. 2004).

Adult Activity: April 25 to June 25 in Alabama based on 16 specimens (Balsbaugh & Hays 1972).

Similar Species:

There are 60 species of Capraita in North, Central and South America (Scherer 1983).
Sixteen spp. occur north of Mexico (Riley et al. 2003).

Texas Taxa:

Capraita circumdata (Randall)
Capraita flavida (Horn)
Capraita nigrosignata (Schaeffer)
Capraita obsidiana (Fabricius)
Capraita scalaris (Melsheimer)
Capraita sexmaculata (Illiger)
Capraita texana (Crotch)
Capraita thyamoides (Crotch)

References:

Arnett, R.H., Jr., M.C. Thomas, P.E. Skelley & J.H. Frank. (editors). 2002. American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press. 861 pp.

Balsbaugh, E.U. & K.L. Hays. 1972. The Leaf beetles of Alabama (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Auburn University Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 441:1-223.

Blake, D.H. 1927. A Revision of the Beetles of the genus Oedionychis Occurring in America North of Mexico. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 70(23): 1-44.

Blake, D.H. 1954. Chrysomelid Beetles of the Oedionychus miniatus Complex. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash., 56: 139-147.

Clark, S.M., D.G. LeDoux, T.N. Seeno, E.G. Riley, A.J. Gilbert & J.M. Sullivan. 2004. Host plants of leaf beetle species occurring in the United States and Canada (Coleoptera: Megalopodidae, Orsodacnidae, Chrysomelidae exclusive of Bruchinae). Coleopterists Society, Special Publication no. 2, 476 pp.

Riley, E.G., S.M. Clark, & T.N. Seeno. 2003. Catalog of the leaf beetles of America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Megalopodidae, Orsodacnidae and Chrysomelidae, excluding Bruchinae). Coleopterists Society, Special Publication no. 1, 290 pp.

Scherer, G. 1983. Diagnostic key for the Neotropical Alticine genera. Entomologischen Arbeiten aus Dem Museum G. Frey 31(32): 1-89.

Sholes, O.D. V. 1987. Host plants and seasonal abundance of adult Capraita subvittata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 89(4): 818-820.