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False Potato Beetle Larva

Leptinotarsa juncta

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10.068, -84.5188

Field Notes

Description:

Small plant, 1 foot tall, growing by itself on the edge of the street and the large gutter, across from my house, full of this little creatures eating away. I came back after the rain stop, the next day, thinking they would be wash away, they were still there hanging from the veins of the plant eating away!! the entire plant leaves were all gone.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (16)
Gilma Jeannette Ospino Ferreira-Norman
Oh....bayucca... would you help, I worked so hard trying to ID this larva and that was the best I could come out with. You are right I just could not find any with the yellow color on them.... : (
bayucca
The type of beetle might be correct, but I do not think it is Leptinotarsa juncta, that one has no yellow. Beetle larva are always tricky to ID.
Gilma Jeannette Ospino Ferreira-Norman
I found this information and pictures, they look a lot like my spotting except for the color, it is in the same plant I found mine, I do not know the name of it and neither the person in the link. False Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa juncta. http://bugguide.net/node/view/536535
HemaShah
I like how they have eaten up most of the plant!
Gilma Jeannette Ospino Ferreira-Norman
Thank you so much for helping with the ID, martinl, Leaf Beetles larvae is a good start, about the plant, it is a wild plant growing by itself by the gutter, by the time I found them they already eat 90 % of it!!
MartinL
I agree they are certainly larvae of leaf beetles. You will do well to identify the plant because that will give useful information about the beetle. Many are named after the plant species they eat.
HemaShah
these look like they are ready to pupate?
LivanEscudero
I think they are leaf beetle larvae. Reminds me of some in the subtribe Doryphorina. http://bugguide.net/node/view/464772/bgpage

Spotted for Missions

Mission
El mini-mundo de Costa Rica
Mission
Beetles of Costa Rica
Mission
2013 Best Wildlife Photo
Mission
National Geographic's Great Nature Project
Mission
Life in Costa Rica
Photographed
PublishedOctober 21, 2013

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