Hello dear hiveans!
Today I want to publish my second post into the insects of the world comunity presenting the Eight-spotted Flea Beetle (Omophoita cyanipennis).
I find this species especially interesting because it does not have the same color distribution that has the better known ladybug, in addition to the fact that, to me, they are not so common and easy to see.
Scientific classification of Omophoita cyanipennis
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera-Beetles
Suborder: Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned and Leaf Beetles)
No Taxon: (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily: Chrysomeloidea (Long-horned and Leaf Beetles)
Family: Chrysomelidae (Leaf Beetles)
Subfamily: Galerucinae (Skeletonizing Leaf Beetles and Flea Beetles)
Tribe: Alticini (Flea Beetles)
No Taxon: (Asphaera Genus Group)
Genus: Omophoita
Species cyanipennis (Eight-spotted Flea Beetle)
At first I found this bug at a oregano plant (origanum vulgare). 11 days after, I found it again when I was trying to photograh an amaranthus, and at a Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) plant . Those locations should be related to their eating habits. Nevertheless, as the majority of coccinellid species, the Eight-spotted Flea beetles are generally considered beneficial insects, because many species prey on herbivorous hemipterans such as aphids or scale insects, which are agricultural pests.
Habitat:
Can be common along the margins of wetlands
Food
Polyphagous
Places of spread:
Omophoita cyanipennis is found in the Caribbean sea, Central America and North America.
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Omophoita octomaculata (Crotch)
Orig. Comb: Oedionychis octomaculata Crotch, 1873
Common appearance
They look like hemispheres, like tiny domes, with small dots, short legs and long antennae. They are black with white dots, with light red or pink near the head and legs. Brilliant colors protect them from predators
Size:
5 to 10mm
Head, Thorax & Abdomen:
The head has a structure that preserves it, called the pronotum, a pair of compound eyes, and an exposed mouth. They exhibit three pairs of legs that are attached to the thorax and also use as receptors for the olfactory system. Abdomen seems to be pink too.
They do not have carapace.
Wings:
They have thick and colorful structures that protect the true wings for their flight called élitro.
Antenna
They possess a pair of black sensory antennae.
I hope that these pictures are enough to get an overall impression of the omophoita cyannipennis (the Eight-spotted Flea beettle), that I found where I live, in Venezuela
Date and location of the discovery
I found both Eight-spotted Flea Beetle on August 26 and September 12, 2021, at 10:08 am and 9:16 am, in Tocuyito, State of Carabobo, Venezuela
Thank you very much or taking the time to read about my find
All pictures were taken by myself,, with a Redmi 9C Xiaomi mobile phone. For information I mainly used the articles about the Omophoita cyaniennis on Wikipedia as well as on Bugguide.
If you want to know more about me just look up my introduceyourself post or follow my blog.
Best wishes 🙂
Elena.