Diet

• Adults: Primarily herbivorous, feeding on leaves and plant tissues. The principal food plant is not firmly established, although adults have been found on cotton (Gossypium) and Parthenium hysterophorus.

• Larvae: The immature biology is poorly documented, and the specific larval host plant is not well established.

Range

• Microrhopala pulchella is a Neotropical hispine leaf beetle occurring from Mexico through Central America, including Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

• The species is therefore well within the fauna of western and southern Mexico, including Guerrero. Around Zihuatanejo, it is likely occasional, particularly in areas with abundant herbaceous vegetation and suitable host plants.

Habitat

• Found in tropical dry forest, tropical deciduous forest, scrub, agricultural areas, gardens, roadsides and secondary vegetation.

• Adults can be looked for on leaves and low-growing vegetation, particularly in sunny areas.

• Because the beetle is small and often remains close to the surface of leaves, careful examination of vegetation is more productive than searching tree trunks or large branches.

Size

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

• Body short, narrow and somewhat cylindrical, with the compact form characteristic of hispine leaf beetles.

• The species is particularly attractive, with orange-red and metallic blue to blue-black areas arranged in contrasting bands and patches across the elytra.

• The elytra have rows of prominent punctures, giving the surface a distinctly textured appearance.