Texas Beetle Information

Return to Texas Entomology - Compiled by Mike Quinn

Spotted Pelidnota

Pelidnota punctata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Family Scarabaeidae, Subfamily Rutelinae, Tribe Rutelini

~7 miles north of Devine, Medina County, Texas
April 26, 2008 (Maury Heiman)

Texas County Range Map for Pelidnota punctata

County Record Data from E.G. Riley, Dec. 2005
Plus Medina County

Range: East of the Rocky Mountains

Flight Period (in Texas): April to July

Biology:

Adults feed on foliage and fruits of wild and cultivated grapes (Vitis spp.). This species appears to have a two year life cycle. They overwinter as larvae. Larvae feed in decaying wood or in soil in the vicinity of decaying wood.

Larval Hosts:

	Maple	Acer sp.
	Oak	Quercus sp.
	Hackberry	Celtis sp.
	Apple	Malus sp.
	Elm	Ulmus sp.
	Sycamore	Platanus sp.
	Walnut	Juglans sp.

Note: Attracted to mercury vapor and UV black lights

Similar species:

The genus Pelidnota includes about 100 species and is most speciose in South America. Six species are distributed in Nearctic North America.

Texas Taxa:

Pelidnota punctata (Linnaeus)
Pelidnota strigosa Laporte
Range: Webb Co., TX south to Costa Rica

Photos: Pelidnota punctata - Grapevine Beetle - Bugnet.net

Etymology: Pelidnota punctata (Linnaeus, 1758)

pelidn, -o (G). Livid, black and blue
punctat (L). Marked with pricks or punctures

Biography: Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) - University of California, Berkeley

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 LLC, Boca Raton, FL. xiv + 861 pp.

Borror, D.J. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms. National Press Books, Palo Alto. v + 134 pp.

Hardy, A.R. 1975. A revision of the genus Pelidnota of America North of Panama (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae; Rutelinae). University of California Publications in Entomology, 78: 1-43.

Riley, E.G. & C.S. Wolfe. 2003. An annotated checklist of the Scarabaeoidea of Texas. Southwestern Entomologist, Supplement, no. 26. 37 pp.

Ritcher, P.O. 1966. White Grubs and Their Allies, a Study of North American Scarabaeoid Larvae. Oregon State University Monograph Series No. 4: 1-219.

Taber, S.W. & S.B. Fleenor. 2003. Insects of the Texas Lost Pines. Texas A&M University, College Station. 283 pp.

White, R.E. 1983. A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston. 368 pp.