Diet

• Adults: Primarily herbivorous, feeding on leaves, flowers and tender plant tissues. Like other Megalostomis, the species is associated with herbaceous vegetation and may have a preference for particular host plants.

• Larvae: Develop in a portable protective case, feeding on plant material and organic debris near the ground.

• Specific host-plant associations for M. pyropyga are not well documented.

Range

• Megalostomis pyropyga is a Neotropical leaf beetle occurring in Mexico and Central America.

• It is associated with tropical and subtropical regions of Mexico, including Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo area.

• Around Zihuatanejo, it is occasional, with the greatest likelihood of encountering adults on vegetation during the warm, wet season.

Habitat

• Found in tropical dry forest, tropical deciduous forest, woodland edges, scrub, secondary vegetation and agricultural areas.

• Adults occur on foliage, flowers and young shoots, particularly in sunny clearings.

• Larvae remain close to the ground and are concealed within their protective cases.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in).

• Body broadly oval and convex.

• Typically displays a contrasting combination of dark metallic or blue-green coloration with reddish-orange colouring toward the posterior end of the abdomen, reflected in the species name pyropyga (“fire-coloured rump”).