Host relationships and biological notes of Cassidinae beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) in Qiannan Prefecture, Guizhou, China

Abstract

The faunal composition, host relationships and biological information of the subfamily Cassidinae (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) remain poorly known in many Chinese regions. Based on the seven-year field survey, faunal composition and host associations of Cassidinae beetles were systematically compiled for Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. In particular, through direct field observations, detailed biological information, such as life history and behavioural features and host plants were first recorded for 56 species of Cassidinae beetles. We have tripled the number of Cassidinae species in Qiannan. Sixty-nine species of Cassidinae beetles belonging to 17 genera and eight tribes were identified, of which 38 species are newly recorded in Guizhou and 56 are newly recorded in Qiannan. The tribes Leptispini and Notosacanthini were newly recorded in Guizhou. The genera Thlaspidosoma Spaeth, Downesia Baly, Klitispa Uhmann, Platypria Guérin-Méneville, Leptispa Baly and Notosacantha Chevrolat were recorded in Guizhou for the first time. A total of 61 species, 37 genera and 17 families of host plants were collected. Lardizabalaceae and Araliaceae were new host plant families for Cassidinae worldwide. Quantitative food web analysis indicated that Cassidinae species in Qiannan mainly feed on Poaceae, Rosaceae, Convolvulaceae and Lamiaceae. Callispini and Leptispini only feed on monocots, Aspidimorphini, Basiprionotini, Cassidini and Notosacanthini only feed on dicots, while Hispini feed on both monocots and dicots. The feeding patterns and corresponding damage marks of Cassidinae were quite diverse. In addition, the pupal mine-making behaviour of Dactylispa excisa (Kraatz, 1879), D. similis Chen et T’an, 1985 and D. uhmanni Gressitt, 1950 are worth further study. Although preliminary, our field survey is an essential step in understanding Cassidinae behaviour and Cassidinae-plant interactions.