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Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Baliosus vittaticollis
Baliosus vittaticollis

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Beetles (Order Coleoptera​​)

-​Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

-​Cucujiform Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)

-Leaf Beetles and Allies (Superfamily Chrysomeloidea)

-Leaf Beetles Family (Chrysomelidae)

-Tortoise and Hispine Beetles (Subfamily Cassidinae)

-Tribe Chalepini​

-Genus Baliosus

-Baliosus vittaticollis


The body of Baliosus vittaticollis is generally a shiny metallic color, often in shades of gold or bronze, with distinctive black or dark brown markings. These markings often include bands or spots that give the beetle its common name. The adults of Baliosus vittaticollis feed primarily on the leaves of various plants, especially those in the Asteraceae family (the daisy family) and other flowering plants.

Diet

  • Larvae: Develop beneath the bark and within the wood of dead, dying, or stressed woody plants, feeding in the cambium and outer sapwood.

  • Adults: Feed primarily on leaves and tender shoots of their host plants and may occasionally visit flowers.

Range

  • Found in Mexico and parts of Central America.

  • In Mexico, it occurs in tropical and subtropical regions, including the Pacific slope and Guerrero.

  • It may be encountered in the Zihuatanejo region where suitable host plants and woody habitat occur.

Habitat

  • Associated with tropical dry forest, tropical deciduous forest, thorn scrub, woodland edges, secondary forest, and other warm wooded habitats.

  • Larvae occur in dead or weakened branches and stems, while adults are usually found on the foliage of host plants.

  • Adults are most active during warm, sunny weather.

Size

  • Adult length: approximately 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in).

  • Body elongate and wedge-shaped, typical of members of the jewel beetle family Buprestidae.

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