Adults of the flea beetle, Systena hudsonias, were observed feeding on Ambro- sia trifida and eight previously unrecorded host plants in southwestern Virginia. New host plant records for S. hudsonias include: Arctium minus, Aster nova­ angliae, Chrysanthemum maximum, Eupatorium fistulosum, Helianthus annuus, Rudbeckia hirta (Asteraceae), Mentha spicata (Lamiaceae), and Verbena urticifoiia (Verbenaceae)

Williams, Charles E

English

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 23 Number 3 - Fall 1990 Number 3 - Fall 1990 Article 5 October 1990 New Host Plants for Adult Systena Hudsonias (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) From Southwestern Virginia Charles E. Williams Miami University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Charles E. 1990. "New Host Plants for Adult Systena Hudsonias (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) From Southwestern Virginia," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 23 (3) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss3/5 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1990 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 149 NEW HOST PLANTS FOR ADULT SYSTENA HUDSONIAS (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) FROM SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA Charles E. Williams l ABSTRACT Adults of the flea beetle, Systena hudsonias, were observed feeding on Ambro­sia trifida and eight previously unrecorded host plants in southwestern Virginia. New host plant records for S. hudsonias include: Arctium minus, Aster nova­angliae, Chrysanthemum maximum, Eupatorium fistulosum, Helianthus annuus, Rudbeckia hirta (Asteraceae), Mentha spicata (Lamiaceae), and Verbena urticifoiia (Verbenaceae). The nineteen species of Systena (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) known from North America (Wilcox 1975) feed on a spectrum of herbaceous and woody plants (Blatchley 1910, Balsbaugh and Hays 1972, Wilcox 1979). Some Systena species [e.g., S. frontalis {Fabricius), S. bland a (Melsheimer), and S. elongata (Fabricius)] are occasional pests of crops and ornamentals (Arnett 1985), but most are innocuous and little studied. The biology and host plant relations of S. hudsonias (Forster) are poorly known. Adults have been associated with several plants including Ambrosia trifida (greater ragweed), Sambucus sp. (elder), Solidago sp. (goldenrod) and Zea mays (corn) (Blatchley 1910, Metcalf et al. 1962, Balsbaugh and Hays 1972, Wilcox 1979). Duckett (1920) also listed wild aster, canna, grape, garden beet, potato and pole beans as hosts for S. hudsonias. This species has been called the smartweed flea beetle (e.g., Metcalf et al. 1962), yet there appears to be no published record of S. hudsonias feeding on smartweeds (Polygonum spp.). Systena frontalis, a species that closely resembles S. hudsonias (Blatchley 1910), feeds extensively on Poly­gonum (Blatchley 1910, Herrick 1925); thus association of S. hudsonias with smartweed could be due in part to misidentification of S. frontalis. During June and July of 1987, 1988, and 1989, I observed adult S. hudsonias feeding on several cultivated and wild host plants growing in the ornamental plant­ings and field margins of a small farm in Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Vir­ginia. Beetles were generally first observed in early June and were common through mid-July in all three years. This pattern of limited seasonal abundance of adults agrees with other published observations for this species in the eastern United States (Kirk 1970, Balsbaugh and Hays 1972, Riley and Enns 1979), and suggests that S. hudsonias, like other Systena species, is apparently univoltine (Herrick 1925). Systena hudsonias adults were observed feeding on plants of three families: the Asteraceae (composites), Lamiaceae (mints), and Verbenaceae (vervains). Beetles IDepartment of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 1Williams: New Host Plants for Adult <i>Systena Hudsonias</i> (Coleoptera: CPublished by ValpoScholar, 1990150 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST VoL 23, No.3 primarily fed on plants in the Asteraceac:: including Ambrosia trifida, Arctium minus (common burdock), Aster nova-angliae (New England aster), Chrysanthemum max­imum (cultivated Shasta daisy), Eupatorium fistulosum (hollow Joe-pye weed), Helianthus annuus (cultivated sunflower), and Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan). Mentha spicata (spearmint) and Verbena urticifolia (white vervain) were the only non-asteraceous plants fed upon by S. hudsonias. Except for A. trifida, all of the above plants are previously unrecorded hosts of S. hudsonias. Host plant and insect voucher specimens are deposited in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University herbarium and the Cornell University Insect Collection, respectively. Feeding beetles generally caused minor damage to plants and, when observed in the field or confined to petri plates with host plant leaves, usually fed on the adaxial surface of leaves. Typical S. hudsonias feeding damage consisted of circular scrapes of the leaf surface ca. 1-2 mm in diameter and (or) linear scrapes up to 5 mm in length and 1 mm in width. Beetles were particularly abundant on A. nova-angliae, M. spicata, and V. urticifolia; these plants grew in close proximity along a stream margin and aggregations of ten or more beetles per plant were commonly observed. Numerous other Aster and Solidago species also occurred at the stream margin, but S. hudsonias was not observed feeding on any of them. Systena hudsonias is apparently an oligophagous or polyphagous species in southwestern Virginia and in other portions of its wide range (e.g., Quebec to South Dakota and south to Florida and New Mexico [Wilcox 1975]). Plants in the Astera­ceae appear to be important hosts for S. hudsonias, although the array of plants fed on by this insect may vary with the taxonomic composition of the plant community in which it occurs, and local feeding specializations. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks are due E. R. Hoebeke, Cornell University, for identifying S. hudsonias and depositing vouchers  the Cornell University Insect Collection. Garth and Barbara Wilkes kindly allowed me to conduct studies on their land. K. Williams and an anonymous referee provided useful comments on the manuscript. LITERATURE CITED Arnett, R. H., Jr. 1985. American insects. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. New York, NY. 850 pp. Balsbaugh, E. U., Jr. and K. L. Hays. 1972. The leaf beetles of Alabama. Alabama Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 441. 223 pp. Blatchley, W. S. 1910. An illustrated descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera or beetles known to occur in Indiana. Nature Pub!. Co. Indianapolis, IN. 1385 pp. Duckett, A. B. 1920. Annotated list of Halticini. Univ. of Maryland Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 241. 155 pp. Herrick, G. W. 1925. Manual of injurious insects. Henry Holt and Co. New York, NY. 489 pp. Kirk, V. M. 1970. A list of the beetles of South Carolina. Part 2 - Mountain, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain. South Carolina Agric. Exp. Stn. Tech. Bull. 1038. ll7 pp. Metcalf, C. L., W. P. Flint, and R. L. Metcalf. 1962. Destructive and useful insects. McGraw­Hill Book Co. New York, NY. 809 pp. Riley, E. G. and W. R. Enns. 1979. An annotated checklist of Missouri leaf beetles. Trans. Missouri Acad. Sci. 13:53-83. Wilcox, J. A. 1975. Checklist of the beetles of North and South America and the West Indies. VoL 8. Family 129. Chrysomelidae. Flora and Fauna Publications. Gainesville, FL. 166 pp. Wilcox, 	J. A. 1979. Leaf beetle host plants in northeastern North America. World Natural History Publications. Marlton, NJ. 30 pp. 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 23, No. 3 [1990], Art. 5https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss3/5

New Host Plants for Adult \u3ci\u3eSystena Hudsonias\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) From Southwestern Virginia

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 23 
Number 3 - Fall 1990 Number 3 - Fall 1990 Article 5 
October 1990 
New Host Plants for Adult Systena Hudsonias (Coleoptera: 
Chrysomelidae) From Southwestern Virginia 
Charles E. Williams 
Miami University 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Williams, Charles E. 1990. "New Host Plants for Adult Systena Hudsonias (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) 
From Southwestern Virginia," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 23 (3) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss3/5 
This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
1990 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 149 
NEW HOST PLANTS FOR ADULT SYSTENA HUDSONIAS 
(COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) FROM 
SOUTHWESTERN VIRGINIA 
Charles E. Williams l 
ABSTRACT 
Adults of the flea beetle, Systena hudsonias, were observed feeding on Ambro­
sia trifida and eight previously unrecorded host plants in southwestern Virginia. 
New host plant records for S. hudsonias include: Arctium minus, Aster nova­
angliae, Chrysanthemum maximum, Eupatorium fistulosum, Helianthus annuus, 
Rudbeckia hirta (Asteraceae), Mentha spicata (Lamiaceae), and Verbena urticifoiia 
(Verbenaceae). 
The nineteen species of Systena (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) known 
from North America (Wilcox 1975) feed on a spectrum of herbaceous and woody 
plants (Blatchley 1910, Balsbaugh and Hays 1972, Wilcox 1979). Some Systena 
species [e.g., S. frontalis {Fabricius), S. bland a (Melsheimer), and S. elongata 
(Fabricius)] are occasional pests of crops and ornamentals (Arnett 1985), but most 
are innocuous and little studied. 
The biology and host plant relations of S. hudsonias (Forster) are poorly 
known. Adults have been associated with several plants including Ambrosia trifida 
(greater ragweed), Sambucus sp. (elder), Solidago sp. (goldenrod) and Zea mays 
(corn) (Blatchley 1910, Metcalf et al. 1962, Balsbaugh and Hays 1972, Wilcox 1979). 
Duckett (1920) also listed wild aster, canna, grape, garden beet, potato and pole 
beans as hosts for S. hudsonias. This species has been called the smartweed flea 
beetle (e.g., Metcalf et al. 1962), yet there appears to be no published record of S. 
hudsonias feeding on smartweeds (Polygonum spp.). Systena frontalis, a species 
that closely resembles S. hudsonias (Blatchley 1910), feeds extensively on Poly­
gonum (Blatchley 1910, Herrick 1925); thus association of S. hudsonias with 
smartweed could be due in part to misidentification of S. frontalis. 
During June and July of 1987, 1988, and 1989, I observed adult S. hudsonias 
feeding on several cultivated and wild host plants growing in the ornamental plant­
ings and field margins of a small farm in Blacksburg, Montgomery County, Vir­
ginia. Beetles were generally first observed in early June and were common through 
mid-July in all three years. This pattern of limited seasonal abundance of adults 
agrees with other published observations for this species in the eastern United States 
(Kirk 1970, Balsbaugh and Hays 1972, Riley and Enns 1979), and suggests that S. 
hudsonias, like other Systena species, is apparently univoltine (Herrick 1925). 
Systena hudsonias adults were observed feeding on plants of three families: the 
Asteraceae (composites), Lamiaceae (mints), and Verbenaceae (vervains). Beetles 
IDepartment of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056 
1
Williams: New Host Plants for Adult <i>Systena Hudsonias</i> (Coleoptera: C
Published by ValpoScholar, 1990
150 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST VoL 23, No.3 
primarily fed on plants in the Asteraceac:: including Ambrosia trifida, Arctium minus 
(common burdock), Aster nova-angliae (New England aster), Chrysanthemum max­
imum (cultivated Shasta daisy), Eupatorium fistulosum (hollow Joe-pye weed), 
Helianthus annuus (cultivated sunflower), and Rudbeckia hirta (black-eyed Susan). 
Mentha spicata (spearmint) and Verbena urticifolia (white vervain) were the only 
non-asteraceous plants fed upon by S. hudsonias. Except for A. trifida, all of the 
above plants are previously unrecorded hosts of S. hudsonias. Host plant and insect 
voucher specimens are deposited in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State 
University herbarium and the Cornell University Insect Collection, respectively. 
Feeding beetles generally caused minor damage to plants and, when observed in 
the field or confined to petri plates with host plant leaves, usually fed on the adaxial 
surface of leaves. Typical S. hudsonias feeding damage consisted of circular scrapes 
of 
the leaf surface ca. 
1-2 mm in diameter and (or) linear scrapes up to 5 mm in 
length and 1 mm in width. Beetles were particularly abundant on A. nova-angliae, 
M. spicata, and V. urticifolia; these plants grew in close proximity along a stream 
margin and aggregations of ten or more beetles per plant were commonly observed. 
Numerous other Aster and Solidago species also occurred at the stream margin, but 
S. 
hudsonias 
was not observed feeding on any of them. 
Systena hudsonias is apparently an oligophagous or polyphagous species in 
southwestern Virginia and in other portions of its wide range (e.g., Quebec to South 
Dakota and south to Florida and New Mexico [Wilcox 1975]). Plants in the Astera­
ceae appear to be important hosts for S. hudsonias, although the array of plants fed 
on by this insect may vary with the taxonomic composition of the plant community 
in which it occurs, and local feeding specializations. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
Thanks are due E. R. Hoebeke, Cornell University, for identifying S. hudsonias 
and depositing vouchers  the Cornell University Insect Collection. Garth and 
Barbara Wilkes kindly allowed me to conduct studies on their land. K. Williams and 
an anonymous referee provided useful comments on the manuscript. 
LITERATURE CITED 
Arnett, R. H., Jr. 1985. American insects. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. New York, NY. 850 
pp. 
Balsbaugh, E. U., Jr. and K. L. Hays. 1972. The leaf beetles of Alabama. Alabama Agric. 
Exp. Stn. Bull. 441. 223 pp. 
Blatchley, W. S. 1910. An illustrated descriptive catalogue of the Coleoptera or beetles known 
to 
occur in Indiana. Nature Pub!. Co. Indianapolis, IN. 
1385 pp. 
Duckett, A. B. 1920. Annotated list of Halticini. Univ. of Maryland Agric. Exp. Stn. Bull. 
241. 155 pp. 
Herrick, G. W. 1925. Manual of injurious insects. Henry Holt and Co. New York, NY. 489 
pp. 
Kirk, V. M. 1970. A list of the beetles of South Carolina. Part 2 - Mountain, Piedmont, and 
Coastal Plain. South Carolina Agric. Exp. Stn. Tech. Bull. 1038. ll7 pp. 
Metcalf, C. L., W. P. Flint, and R. L. Metcalf. 1962. Destructive and useful insects. McGraw­
Hill Book Co. New York, NY. 809 pp. 
Riley, E. G. and W. R. Enns. 1979. An annotated checklist of Missouri leaf beetles. Trans. 
Missouri Acad. Sci. 13:53-83. 
Wilcox, J. A. 1975. Checklist of the beetles of North and South America and the West Indies. 
VoL 
8. Family 129. Chrysomelidae. Flora 
and Fauna Publications. Gainesville, FL. 166 pp. 
Wilcox, 	J. A. 1979. Leaf beetle host plants in northeastern North America. World Natural 
History Publications. Marlton, NJ. 30 pp. 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 23, No. 3 [1990], Art. 5
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss3/5


Charles E Williams

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 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) From Southwestern Virginia

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New Host Plants for Adult \u3ci\u3eSystena Hudsonias\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) From Southwestern Virginia

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