Tortoise beetle
Encyclopedia
The tortoise beetles are an artificial grouping of tribes within the leaf beetle
subfamily Hispinae
. In past classifications, they have been variously placed as a family ("Cassidae") or a subfamily (Cassidinae); when it was recognized that this group was not monophyletic, it was split and the resulting tribes were incorporated into the Hispinae. Some of the tribes that are considered "tortoise beetles" in the historic sense are the Cassidini
, Dorynotini, Hemisphaerotini, Ischyrosonychini, and Mesomphaliini. Their common name arose from the superficial resemblance some species bear to tortoise
s, the elytra being analogised with the tortoise's carapace
.
Some species are easily mistaken by non-entomologists as ladybugs/ladybirds
.
Leaf beetle
Beetles in the family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles. This is a family of over 35,000 species in more than 2,500 genera, one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families....
subfamily Hispinae
Hispinae
The Hispinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. It includes both the traditional Hispines plus the former "cassidines", now split up within the Hispinae, including the tribe Cassidini, with a total of over 125 genera in numerous tribes....
. In past classifications, they have been variously placed as a family ("Cassidae") or a subfamily (Cassidinae); when it was recognized that this group was not monophyletic, it was split and the resulting tribes were incorporated into the Hispinae. Some of the tribes that are considered "tortoise beetles" in the historic sense are the Cassidini
Cassidini
The Cassidini are a tribe within the leaf beetle subfamily Hispinae. In past classifications, they have been placed in the subfamily , known collectively as "tortoise beetles"; when it was recognized that this group was not monophyletic, it was split and the resulting tribes were incorporated into...
, Dorynotini, Hemisphaerotini, Ischyrosonychini, and Mesomphaliini. Their common name arose from the superficial resemblance some species bear to tortoise
Tortoise
Tortoises are a family of land-dwelling reptiles of the order of turtles . Like their marine cousins, the sea turtles, tortoises are shielded from predators by a shell. The top part of the shell is the carapace, the underside is the plastron, and the two are connected by the bridge. The tortoise...
s, the elytra being analogised with the tortoise's carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
.
Some species are easily mistaken by non-entomologists as ladybugs/ladybirds
Coccinellidae
Coccinellidae is a family of beetles, known variously as ladybirds , or ladybugs . Scientists increasingly prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles as these insects are not true bugs...
.
External links
- Interactive key to the Cassidini
- Chelymorpha cribraria, tortoise beetle on the University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ Institute of Food and Agricultural SciencesInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
Featured Creatures website - Hemisphaerota cyanea, palmetto tortoise beetle on the University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ Institute of Food and Agricultural SciencesInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
Featured Creatures website