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Five subfamilies within Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles) have larvae that retain their feces as a coat or armor which serves for thermoregulation, camouflage, or barrier to enemies. The construction, retention and repair of these fecal structures are associated with specialized larval morphologies in the tortoise beetles (subfamily Cassidinae) and in the Cryptocephalinae + Lamprosomatinae (Camptosomata), but morphology associated with fecal encrustations on larvae in the Blepharida -group flea beetles (Galerucinae: Alticini) and in Criocerinae have not been examined. Experiments with live larvae of Podontia quatuordecimpunctata (L., 1767) (or sineguelas leaf beetle, SLB; Blepharida group) reveal the anus opens dorsally and deposits feces directly to the larva’s dorsum; the armor is maintained and is reconstructed. Scanning electron microscopy reveals integumental microtrichia that presumably hold on the feces. This invasive beetle has become an introduced tree-crop pest in the Philippines, so ongoing research seeks to mitigate its population. Insecticidal chemical assays show that fecal armor does not fully protect SLB larvae but delays potency slightly. The study recommends rotating the insecticides (Imidacloprid, Cypermethrin, and Buprofezin) to prevent the development of resistance. Specialized morphology for fecal retention is known in Cassidinae, Camptosomata and is now documented in the Blepharida group. Such morphology and the fecal-building behavior can offer additional phylogenetic information for these beetles.

A revision of the Alticini genera from the Afrotropical region is reported. The paper includes the following for the flea beetle fauna occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar: a key to their identification; habitus photos of all the genera; microscope and scanning electron micrographs of many diagnostic morphological characters; and an updated annotated catalogue with biogeographical notes that include new distributional data. The following new synonymies are proposed: Aphthona Chevrolat, 1836 = Ethiopia Scherer, 1972 syn. n.; Sanckia Duvivier, 1891 = Eugonotes Jacoby, 1897 syn. n.; Eurylegna Weise, 1910a = Eurylegniella Scherer, 1972 syn. n.; Kimongona Bechyné, 1959a = Mesocrepis Scherer, 1963 syn. n.; Diphaulacosoma Jacoby, 1892a = Neoderina Bechyné, 1952 syn. n.; Sesquiphaera Bechyné, 1958a = Paropsiderma Bechyné, 1958a syn. n.; Podagrica Chevrolat, 1836 = Podagricina Csiki in Heikertinger and Csiki 1940syn. n.; Amphimela Chapuis, 1875 = Sphaerophysa Baly, 1876a syn. n. The following new combinations are proposed: Blepharida insignis Brancsik, 1897 = Xanthophysca insignis (Brancsik, 1897) comb. n.; Blepharida multiguttata Duvivier, 1891 = Xanthophysca multiguttata (Duvivier, 1891) comb. n.; Hemipyxis balyana (Csiki in Heikertinger and Csiki 1940) = Pseudadorium balyanum (Csiki in Heikertinger and Csiki, 1940) comb. n.; Hemipyxis brevicornis (Jacoby, 1892a) = Pseudadorium brevicornis (Jacoby, 1892a) comb. n.; Hemipyxis cyanea (Weise, 1910b) = Pseudadorium cyaneum (Weise, 1910b) comb. n.; Hemipyxis gynandromorpha Bechyné, 1958c = Pseudadorium gynandromorphum (Bechyné, 1958c) comb. n.; Hemipyxis latiuscula Bechyné, 1958c = Pseudadorium latiusculum (Bechyné, 1958c) comb. n.; Hemipyxis soror (Weise, 1910b) = Pseudadorium soror (Weise, 1910b) comb. n. The genera Buphonella Jacoby, 1903aand Halticopsis Fairmaire, 1883a are transferred to the tribe Galerucini; the genus Biodontocnema Biondi, 2000 stat. prom. is considered to be valid and reinstated at generic level. Finally, a zoogeographical analysis of the flea beetle fauna in the Afrotropical region is provided.

Coevolution has long been considered a major force leading to the adaptive radiation and diversification of insects and plants. A fundamental aspect of coevolution is that adaptations and counteradaptations interlace in time. A discordant origin of traits long before or after the origin of the putative coevolutionary selective pressure must be attributed to other evolutionary processes. Despite the importance of this distinction to our understanding of coevolution, the macroevolutionary tempo of innovation in plant defenses and insect counterdefenses has not been documented. Molecular clocks for a lineage of chrysomelid beetles of the genus Blepharida and their Burseraceae hosts were independently calibrated. Results show that these plants' defenses and the insect's counterdefensive feeding traits evolved roughly in synchrony, providing macroevolutionary confirmation of synchronous plant-herbivore coadaptation. The association between these two groups of organisms was determined to be about 112 million years old, the oldest age so far for a specialized plant-herbivore association.

Determining the macroevolutionary importance of plant chemistry on herbivore host shifts is critical to understanding the evolution of insect-plant interactions. Molecular phylogenies of the ancient and speciose Blepharida (Coleoptera)-Bursera (Burseraceae) system were reconstructed and terpenoid chemical profiles for the plant species obtained. Statistical analyses show that the historical patterns of host shifts strongly correspond to the patterns of host chemical similarity, indicating that plant chemistry has played a significant role in the evolution of host shifts by phytophagous insects

The biology, host plants, and pest status of Podontia Dalman, 1824 species are reviewed. Natural history of Podontia congregata Baly, 1865 a flea beetle endemic to southern India, is reported for the first time. It is distributed from the Western Ghats Mountains westward to the plains. Clusiaceae is reported as a new host plant family for Blepharida-group species, with Garcinia gummi-gutta (L.) N. Robson (Clusiaceae) as the host plant for Podontia congregata. Pentatomid bugs attack the larvae but not eggs, pupae, or adults. A new egg parasitoid species, Ooencyrtus keralensis Hayat and Prathapan, 2010 (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae), was discovered. Aspects of Podontia congregata host selection, life cycle, and larval fecal defenses are consistent with its inclusion in the Blepharida-genus group.

Identifying the factors that have promoted host shifts by phytophagous insects at a macroevolutionary scale is critical to understanding the associations between plants and insects. We used molecular phylogenies of the beetle genus Blepharida and its host genus Bursera to test whether these insects have been using hosts with widely overlapping ranges over evolutionary time. We also quantified the importance of host range coincidence relative to host chemistry and host phylogenetic relatedness. Overall, the evolution of host use of these insects has not been among hosts that are geographically similar. Host chemistry is the factor that best explains their macroevolutionary patterns of host use. Interestingly, one exceptional polyphagous species has shifted among geographically close chemically dissimilar plants.

Immature stages in five chrysomelid clades, Cassidinae, Criocerinae, Cryptocephalinae, Lamprosomatinae and Galerucinae, use their feces as a significant part of their defense. In Galerucinae, only two genera, Blepharida Chevrolat and Polyclada Chevrolat have been known to carry larval fecal coats. We report for the first time that immature stages of two species in the African arrow-poison genus Diamphidia Gerstaecker, as well as an additional species of Polyclada Chevrolat cover themselves with their feces. In Diamphidia femoralis Gerstaecker, Diamphidia nigroornata Stål and an undetermined species of Polyclada, females oviposit masses on stems of Commiphora (Burseraceae) and Sclerocarya birrea (A. Richt.) Hochst. (Anacardiaceae), and they coat their eggs with sticky olive-green feces that harden into a dark-brown covering. All larval instars retain their feces, as semi-solid pellets or a wet mass that partially or completely covers the dorsum, or as long anal strands. The final instar loses its fecal coat prior to descending the host stem or dropping to the ground to enter the soil for pupation. These behaviors further support a close evolutionary relationship between Blepharida, Diamphidia and Polyclada, and suggest similar morphological features for maintaining fecal coats.

The genus Bursera produces resin stored in canals in the leaf. When leaves are damaged, some, but not all, species release abundant resin. Species of Blepharida are specialized herbivores of Bursera, and they exhibit variation in their counterdefensive behavior. Species feeding on resin-releasing plants cut the leaf veins before feeding, which often makes them more prone to predation. They also adorn their backs with their feces and may regurgitate and release an anal secretion when attacked or disturbed by predators. Species that feed on Bursera species that release no fluids do not sever the leaf veins prior to feeding, and they do not carry their feces on their backs. Instead, they face their predators, raise their heads in a \"boxing-like\" display, and rapidly swing their abdomens from side to side. We performed a comparative chemical analysis of the compounds found in Bursera schlechtendalii, a species that releases abundant resins, and B. biflora, a species that does not. We also analyzed the frass, enteric discharges, and larvae of the two species of Blepharida that feed on each of these plants. The compounds found in the body, feces, and discharges of the Blepharida species that adorns itself with feces match the chemical mixture of its host plant, suggesting that this beetle species can compensate its higher risk of predation by using the compounds present in the plant for defense. The chemical mixture of B. biflora is more complex and does not match the compounds found in the body or frass of its beetle herbivore, suggesting that the defensive strategy of this insect is behavioral and does not rely on its host's constituents.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]

The effects of three herbivores on growth, survivorship, and fruit production of smooth sumac (Rhus glabra) were measured over the 1984-1986 growing seasons. The herbivores, a specialist chrysomelid beetle (Blepharida rhois), a specialist cerambycid beetle (Oberea ocellata), and whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus), feed on different plant pans and are active during different times of the year. My goals were to determine (1) the effects on ramets of each herbivore separately and in combination over several years,(2) whether herbivore effects were consistent from year to year, (3)whether the history of attack affects subsequent herbivory, both within and between seasons, (4) whether herbivores interact directly, and/or indirectly, through changes in the host plant, and (5) whether any herbivore(s) emerge as particularly prominent selective agents on the plant, considering both their direct and indirect effects. Selective exclosures were used to manipulate herbivory histories of ramets. All manipulations were done in the field under natural densities of all herbivores. Herbivory treatments were cumulative over 3 yr, so that by 1986, each treatment comprised a history of 3 yr of absence/presence of browsing and beetle attack. Differing combinations of attack allowed me to detect how herbivory in one year affected ramet growth in following years.The effects of deer, chrysomelids, and cerambycids on sumac differed not only in their magnitude and direction, but also in their effects in combination. Chrysomelid herbivory (randomly assigned, using natural densities of beetles) over 3 yr was always injurious to sumac ramets. Damage in 1984 was especially injurious, and was still detectable 2-3 yr later in ramet growth, despite the absence of any subsequent herbivory. Cumulative effects of chrysomelid damage were also found, i.e., the more years a ramet was exposed to chrysomelid herbivory, the more likely it was to die. In contrast to chrysomelid damage, deer browsing was generally associated with increased ramet growth and/or reproduction. These effects were weaker and had no detectable long-term effects. The positive effects associated with browsing may reflect selectivity on the part of deer rather than positive effects of browsing, since browsing was not randomly assigned (Strauss 1988a). I found nonadditive effects of damage by different herbivores on ramet growth or mortality. For example, there was no effect of browsing on the magnitude of chrysomelid effects on ramet growth; however, browse effects on ramet growth disappeared on chrys- omelid-attacked ramets, but were still apparent on ramets protected from chrysomelid herbivory. Many interactions between herbivores were found. Every pair of herbivore species, despite very different feeding habits, exhibited at least one interaction. Most interactions resulted from temporally separated herbivory events and were thus mediated by the host plant. In no cases were interactions symmetrical. From 3 yr of observations, chrysomelids were always the most injurious herbivore, deer were never injurious (and were potentially beneficial), and cerambycids, although injurious alone, were even more so in conjunction with the chrysomelid. Although the strengths of selection exerted by each herbivore varied from year to year, their relative effects on the plant did not change. From this result, I argue that selective effects of herbivores on sumac at Cedar Creek are not diffuse, but are consistent from year to year.

Several studies have documented local adaptation by sedentary insects to individual phenotypes of their host plants. Here, I examined whether a similar phenomenon could be found in a mobile, specialized insect, the sumac flea beetle. Previous work has shown that sumac individuals differ in their suitability as hosts for these beetles and that differences have both an environmental and a genetic basis. Using beetle populations collected as eggs from eight different sumac clones along an east-west transect, a reciprocal transfer experiment was conducted to determine whether there was any evidence for local adaptation by beetles to individual plant clones or to site. Variables examined were larval survivorship past first instar, development time, weight at pupation and patterns of predation by enemies. While no evidence for local adaptation was found, there were significant effects of plant clone on which larvae developed, origin of the larval population and the interaction of these effects on larval performance. For larval weight at pupation, there was also some indication that trade-offs may exist in ability of larvae to use different host plant clones. In addition, there were significant environmental effects on several measures of larval performance. Predation rates differed by plant clone, but not by site or with respect to origin of larvae. While no evidence for local adaptation was found in this study, prerequisites for finding such patterns may exist in this system.