Tortoise Beetle Larva: A correction

danielj

October 2nd, 2005 at 12:00 am

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Correction on Crowned Slug Caterpillar ID
Dear Bugman,
In regards to " Crowned Slug Caterpillar (07/14/2005) Strange bug", I do believe the key word in the sender’s question is "vine" as this is not a caterpillar, but the very minute larva of the Golden Tortoise Beetle, Metriona bicolor. I’ve had oodles of them myself on my decorative sweet potato vines and they will "shotgun" pattern the leaves to the point of decimating the plant (one characteristic hole is partially visible to the left of the larva). They use their fecal pellets as a dorsal shield which they elevate when alarmed, hence the "dark thing" falling off (probably physically knocked off when poked.) I’ve been keeping a culture of them for a couple years now and hope to be publishing some research on them in the not-too-distant future. I haven’t taken any macro shots of the larvae myself, but check out the link below and I think you’ll see that the clarity/quality of the photo on your site makes it appear to be much larger than it is in reality. [see this site]
The adults are fascinating in that they can change color, from a dun/CLEAR tannish color when disturbed (below) to a shining gold when feeding and at rest. Truly gorgeous; like drops of molten gold! Keep up the good work,
Bradley Goettle
Clemson University
Dept of Entomology, Soils, and Plant Sciences
Graduate Research Assistant

tortoise beetle correction Tortoise Beetle Larva: A correction

Hi Bradley,
Thanks for the correction and the fascinating letter. The original letter is reproduced below.

Not a Crowned Slug Caterpillar, but Tortoise Beetle Larva
(07/14/2005) Strange bug
I found this bug on the leaf of a vine growing around one of my hedges. I poked it with a stick and it moved. So I poked it again and the dark thing on the end of it fell off. It seemed to be anchored to the leaf though. There were more on other leaves too. I can’t figure out what it is. Can you help?

crowned slug cat Tortoise Beetle Larva: A correction