Diet

• Adults: Primarily herbivorous, feeding on leaves and tender plant tissues.

• The species is associated with plants in several families, including Stemmadenia pubescens (Apocynaceae) and Lantana hirta (Verbenaceae). Its principal host plant is not firmly established.

• Larvae: Feed on the tissues of their host plants, although the immature biology of M. hectica is not well documented.

Range

• Microctenochira hectica is a Neotropical tortoise beetle occurring from Mexico through Central America and into northern South America.

• In Mexico it is known from numerous states, including Guerrero, making the species well suited to the tropical environments around Zihuatanejo.

• Around Zihuatanejo, it is occasional, and is most likely to be encountered on foliage in warm, relatively undisturbed vegetation.

Habitat

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

• Around Zihuatanejo, look for it on shrubs, vines and low foliage, particularly in warm forest margins and areas with dense vegetation.

• The small size and cryptic colouring make it easy to overlook among leaves.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in).

• Body broadly oval and strongly convex, with the expanded margins characteristic of tortoise beetles.

• The upper surface has a striking mixture of reddish-brown, bronze, gold and greenish metallic reflections, often producing an irregular, mottled appearance. The photographs above show the characteristic highly reflective, patterned appearance.

• The pronotal and elytral margins are expanded and partly conceal the head and legs when viewed from above.