200

LEAF AND LONGHORN BEETLES

CHRYSOMELOIDEA

T

he superfamily Chrysomeloidea includes

the following seven families, with estimated

number of known species: Oxypeltidae (3),

Vesperidae (75), Disteniidae (336), Cerambycidae

(30,079), Megalopodidae (350), Orsodacnidae (40),

and Chrysomelidae (32,500). It is the largest

superfamily in the Polyphaga, with more than

60,000 species, as it includes the fourth and fifth

largest families of Coleoptera (covered separately

below). Of the five smaller families, Oxypeltidae,

Disteniidae, and Vesperidae are superficially similar

to Cerambycidae, while Orsodacnidae and

Megalopodidae have been classified in the past

as subfamilies of Chrysomelidae. An accurate

classification of these seven families, however,

remains elusive, so most specialists prefer to regard

them as separate families for the time being.

Vesperidae includes some of the strangest

Chrysomeloidea. The European genus Vesperus

has a flightless female that is physogastric, with a

swollen abdomen filled with eggs, and the larvae

develop in the soil and can even be a minor pest.

The Brazilian Hypocephalus armatus is even stranger:

also flightless, it does not even look like a beetle, but

is superficially similar to a mole cricket of the order

Orthoptera. They burrow in the ground and their

life cycle, as well as their taxonomic placement,

superfamily

Chrysomeloidea

known species

63,383

distribution

Worldwide except Antarctica

habitat

Chrysomeloids are found in most habitats

where plants occur, as there are hardly

any plants that don’t have a chrysomeloid

feeding on them

size

1–165 mm

diet

Chrysomelids and their relatives eat living

plants. Cerambycids and related families

generally feed as larvae in wood, some in

dead wood, others living

notes

Chrysomeloidea includes the biggest of all

beetles: the Titan Longhorn Titanus giganteus

(Cerambycidae, subfamily Prioninae) from

CHRYSOMELOIDEA—Leaf

below | Agathomerus

(Megalopodidae) From the

Atlantic Forest of Brazil, many

megalopodids are stem borers

as larvae.