common name: tortoise beetle scientific name: Chelymorpha
cribraria (Fabricius) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
Introduction - Distribution - Identification - Biology - Hosts -
Acknowledgments - Selected References In September of 1993, a
single specimen of an exotic tortoise beetle was collected on a
species of Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae) in a weedy lot in Davie,
Broward County. Further collecting turned up additional
specimens at the original site and at other localities in
Broward County. The beetle was identified as Chelymorpha
cribraria (Fabricius), a widely distributed Neotropical species
known to feed on sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) and
other morning glories. Subsequent surveys and collecting have
revealed populations of Chelymorpha cribraria at other
localities in Dade and Monroe counties. Figure 1. Adult of the
tortoise beetle, Chelymorpha cribraria (Fabricius), with
antennae and legs extended. Photograph by Jeffrey Lotz, Division
of Plant Industry. This species is distributed throughou