Eumolpinae

The Eumolpinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. It is one of the largest subfamilies of leaf beetles,[1] including more than 500 genera and 7000 species.[2] They are oval, and convex in form, and measure up to 10 mm in size. Typical coloration for this subfamily of beetles ranges from bright yellow to dark red. Many species are iridescent or brilliantly metallic blue or green in appearance.

Eumolpinae
Chrysochus asclepiadeus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Eumolpinae
Hope, 1840
Tribes

See text

Diversity
More than 500 genera and 7000 species

Description

Eumolpinae can be recognized at first sight by their rounded thoraces, more or less spherical or bell-shaped, but always significantly narrower than the mesothorax as covered by the elytra. Additional features include a small head set deeply into the thorax, and usually well-developed legs.

They generally resemble other Chrysomelidae, but differ in having front coxae rounded and third tarsal segment bilobed beneath. Many are metallic, or yellow and spotted. The dogbane beetle (Chrysochus auratus), for instance, is very attractive—iridescent blue-green with a coppery tinge, it measures 8–10 mm, and is found on dogbane and milkweed. Some, such as members of the genus Macrocoma, are unusually setaceous and with unusually prominent mandibles for members of the family Chrysomelidae.

Distribution

The Eumolpinae are distributed worldwide. They are numerous in the tropics and subtropics, particularly in South America, tropical Africa, Australia, New Guinea, Fiji and New Caledonia, but are progressively less common towards the north.[2] They have a high species richness in New Caledonia.[3]

Tribes

The number of tribes in the subfamily varies depending on the author. According to a classification from 2011, for instance, there are 12 tribes:[4]

The tribe Eupalini was proposed in 2005 for the genus Eupales (also known as Floricola).[5] However, the name "Eupalini" was not explicitly indicated as new, so it is currently considered an unavailable name according to the ICZN.

The subfamily Spilopyrinae was formerly considered a tribe of Eumolpinae, while recently the subfamily Synetinae has sometimes been grouped within Eumolpinae.

See also

References
  1. Gómez-Zurita, Jesús; Jolivet, Pierre; Vogler, Alfried P. (2005). "Molecular systematics of Eumolpinae and the relationships with Spilopyrinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 34 (3): 584–600. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.11.022. PMID 15683931. S2CID 439719.
  2. Jolivet, Pierre; Verma, Krishna K. (2008). "Eumolpinae – a widely distributed and much diversified subfamily of leaf beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)" (PDF). Terrestrial Arthropod Reviews. 1 (1): 3–37. doi:10.1163/187498308X345424.
  3. Papadopoulou, Anna; Cardoso, Anabela; Gómez-Zurita, Jesús (2013). "Diversity and diversification of Eumolpinae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in New Caledonia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 168 (3): 473–495. doi:10.1111/zoj.12039.
  4. Bouchard, Patrice; Bousquet, Yves; Davies, Anthony E.; Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A.; Lawrence, John F.; Lyal, Chris H. C.; Newton, Alfred F.; Reid, Chris A. M.; Schmitt, Michael; Ślipiński, S. Adam; Smith, Andrew B. T. (2011). "Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)". ZooKeys (88): 1–972. doi:10.3897/zookeys.88.807. PMC 3088472. PMID 21594053.
  5. Verma, Krishna K.; Gómez-Zurita, Jesús; Jolivet, Pierre; Vig, Károly (2005). "Biology of Eupales ulema (Germar, 1813) and its taxonomic placement among Eumolpinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)". Nouvelle Revue d'Entomologie. Nouvelle Série. 22 (2): 155–164.
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