Diet

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

• Larvae: Feed on the foliage of their host plants. The immature stages of S. punicea are not well documented.

• The precise host-plant association of S. punicea is not sufficiently established to recommend a particular plant for searching.

Range

• Stolas punicea is a Neotropical tortoise beetle in the family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Cassidinae.

• The species occurs in Mexico and Central America, particularly in warm tropical and subtropical environments.

• Around Zihuatanejo, it should be considered occasional. Suitable tropical vegetation is widespread, but the beetle is relatively small and can easily be overlooked.

Habitat

• Associated with tropical dry forest, tropical deciduous forest, woodland, scrub, forest margins and secondary vegetation.

• Adults are generally found directly on leaves and low vegetation, especially in warm sunny conditions.

• Around Zihuatanejo, carefully examining shrubs and herbaceous vegetation along forest edges and clearings offers a good opportunity to encounter this species.

• The larvae remain on their host plants and may be found on the undersides of leaves.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 7–9 mm (0.28–0.35 in).

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

• The photograph shows the species' particularly distinctive olive-green to bronze background colour with numerous bright reddish-pink spots.

• The head and legs are largely concealed beneath the expanded pronotal and elytral margins when viewed from above.