Diet

• Adults: Feed primarily on leaves, buds, flowers, and occasionally fruit of a wide variety of plants. Many species feed on legumes, grasses, and other herbaceous plants.

• Larvae: Usually feed on roots and other underground plant tissues, although host plants vary among species.

• Some species can become agricultural pests when adults damage crop foliage or larvae attack roots.

Range

• The genus Colaspis is primarily New World, with species distributed from Canada and the United States through Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and South America.

• Mexico has a particularly diverse Colaspis fauna, including numerous species in Guerrero and along the Pacific coast.

• Most species occur in tropical and subtropical regions.

Habitat

• Found in tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, woodland edges, grasslands, scrublands, agricultural fields, orchards, gardens, and secondary vegetation.

• Adults are commonly found on foliage and flowers, while larvae develop in the soil around plant roots.

• Many species favour sunny, disturbed habitats where herbaceous host plants are abundant.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 3–8 mm (0.12–0.3 in).

• Body generally oval and convex, often metallic green, bronze, blue, brown, or reddish.