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Morphology. Body elongated, rather parallel (rarely oval); flat or else moderately arched. Head: small; eyes finely facetted, slightly prominent. Antennae: as long as head and pronotum combined, filiform; segment I thicker and longer than II; slightly thickened at apex. Pronotum: quadrangular; usually wider than long, frequently widest behind the anterior angles; lateral margins gradually curve in toward base; margin arches weakly transversely and drops off to sides in grooved-shaped canaliculatus. Scutellum: short; pentagonal or a long triangle. Elytra: variable in form and contour; 10 1/2 rows of punctures; very narrowly emarginate; margin widens behind the humeri or humeri are insignificant; one segment of pygidium exposed.
Biology. The biology of various species of Cephaloleia has been studied by Strong (1977a, b, 1982a, b, 1983), Seifert & Seifert (1976), Strong & Wang (1977), Auerbach & Strong (1981), and Morrison & Strong (1981). Since there were no identification aides, many of the Cephaloleia species identifications made by these authors are not dependable, however the published information does give valuable data on the biology and ecology of Cephaloleia spp. A summary of the published information follows.
Most Cephaloleia spp. feed in the rolled leaves of various Zingiberales (Zingiberaceae, Marantaceae, Heliconiaceae, and Costaceae). This feeding habit of the beetles gives rise to the name "rolled leaf Hispinae". Rolled leaves are tender and wet, but dry and toughen quickly after unfurling. In small Zingiberales the leaves remain rolled for less than a week but large Zingiberales may have leaves which remain rolled for as long as 25 days.
Cephaloleia eggs are flat, with a thin chorion so they are subject to desiccation. Eggs are laid on host surfaces. Oviposition sites vary among beetle species and host plant. The most common oviposition sites are leaf surfaces, petioles of immature leaves or inflorescence bracts. Eggs hatch after 10 to 20 days. Larvae begin feeding immediately upon the part of the plant on which the egg was laid. Cephaloleia larvae have a water penny-like appearance. They are flat and well adapted to moving between the wet surfaces of Zingiberale leaves and stems. Larvae grow very slowly and go through up to eight molts depending on the size of the species. During their development, larvae of leaf and stem-feeding species utilize several leaves or even leaves of adjacent plants. Inflorescence-feeding larvae are restricted to a single inflorescence. Cephaloleia sp. are not leafminers; they feed on the plant by dragging their mandibles across the plant surface while they crawl forward. This leaves an irregularly shaped feeding scar and a trail of frass. Pupation occurs above ground usually on the stalk of the host plant and lasts about 20 days.
Adult Cephaloleia spp. are found in the same habitat
as larvae and cause similar feeding damage. Several Cephaloleia
spp. may utilize the same leaf, so larval associations are not
simple.
Page authors:
C. L. Staines, 3302 Decker Place, Edgewater MD 21037. Staines.Charles@NMNH.SI.EDU
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. longinoj@evergreen.edu