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Dogbane Beetle
One evening while looking over a stand of Milkweed to see what interesting bug I might find feeding on its blossoms, I spotted these little leaf beetles glittering in the rays of the setting sun.
Named for this host plant, Dogbane, the brilliant, metallic coloring of the Dogbane Beetle is unique among beetles found in the Shenandoah Valley.
Isn't the iridescent shell incredibly beautiful,?
It changes from a golden-green, to a golden-red, to a golden-blue with just a slight change in one's position. (Microscopic crystals in the surface of the shell split and refract the light like miniature prisms.)
What was that about "Solomon in all his splendor?"
Like its cousin leaf beetle, the Japanese Beetle, the Dogbane Beetle lives up to its name, too, as it chews across a leaf.
(The scientific name, Chrysochus auratus is entomological Latin for "golden or gilded leaf beetle.")
The omnivorous, pestiferous Japanese Beetle, Popillia japonica, doesn't stop, however, at just one leaf—or flower, bud, or fruit—especially the foliage of my grapes and raspberries!
They can turn healthy leaves into frail skeletons in just a few hours.
Here is a cadre of the irritating pests destroying a marigold in our garden.
The Dogbane Beetle, however, besides being much prettier than its Asiatic relative, is on a strict diet of Dogbane leaves.
And, since I'm not really into making bow strings and other cordage from Dogbane or Indian Hemp, as did Native Americans of bygone days, I don't begrudge this lily its specialized menu and the few tattered leaves that it leaves behind.
(This is a male and female pair. The male is to right, slightly smaller than the female—see below.)
And beyond its limited diet, another recommendation for this beauty is that any one stand of Dogbane has only a handful of Chrysochus auratus feeding on it at the same time, never enough to strip all the leaves and kill the plant. The economy of God's creation never ceases to amaze me!
Not only does this beetle feed almost exclusively on the bitter leaves and buds of this plant, its entire life cycle is spent on and around its host.
In just a few days, the short life of the Dogbane Beetle comes to an end.
As almost their last act, the adults prepare for next year's generation.
The female deposits the fertilized eggs on the underside of Dogbane leaves, enclosed in a protective mass of fecal material. (Right)
Before the first frost, the hatching larvae break out, drop to the base of the plant, and burrow into the soil in search of their favorite food, Dogbane roots.
Not a long trip, seemingly; but as one entomologist observed, this is a "fantastic journey for tiny larvae!"
Next season the new generation of beetles begins browsing on the host plant leaves...
MOUSE OVER TO SEE SAMPLE.
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I am thankful that I spotted this little leaf beetle "glittering in the rays of the setting sun."
These living jewels have blessed and dazzled me with their iridescent beauty—and they don't make a pest of themselves by eating our zinnias!
Good looking and well-behaved, too: What a winning combination!
Not long after these images were taken, these fascinating beetles were no longer to be found.
The Dogbane plant began to recover, as it put out new leaves to see it through end of the year—and the cycle of Grace continued...
(If you'd like to learn more about Dogbane or Indian Hemp, a most curious and historically useful perennial, CLICK on the image above.)
Any thoughts, pro or con? Why not drop me an anonymous note at the Comments page?
OR
Go back to the Main Directory to consider more lilies of the field.