Chrysochus auratus

Dogbane leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae). Naples, New York, USA.

A gregarious cluster of Paropsisterna eucalyptus leaf beetles. These insects are chemically defended and are apparently more successful in advertising that fact in numbers. Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

When disturbed, Paropsisterna eucalyptus leaf beetle larvae evert abdominal glands that release poisonous hydrogen cyanide gas. Yandoit, Victoria, Australia

Stolas

A tropical leaf beetle, Stolas sp. (Chrysomelidae) Armenia, Belize

Stolas

A tropical leaf beetle, Stolas sp. (Chrysomelidae) Armenia, Belize

Hemisphaerota cyanea

Palmetto Tortoise Beetle- mating pair. Gainesville, Florida, USA

Plagiometriona c.f. clavata larva with fecal shield

La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica (Thanks to Carlos de la Rosa for rearing the larva out for an identification)

Plagiometriona c.f. clavata larva with fecal shield

Larvae of many leaf beetles wear a shield of their own excretia as a defensive strategy. La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. (Thanks to Carlos de la Rosa for rearing the larva out for an identification)

Glyptoscelis pubescens

Hairy leaf beetle. South Bristol, New York, USA.

Aspicela bourcieri

Maquipucuna Reserve, Ecuador.

Zygogramma

Leaf Beetle. Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, USA.

Zygogramma

Leaf Beetles. Huachuca Mountains, Arizona, USA.

Chrysomelidae

The massive hind femora of this flea beetle hold the muscles that power its jumping legs. Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Chrysomelidae: Alticinae

A pair of flea beetles mating. Yandoit, Australia, USA.

Chrysomelidae

Protected by a spiny shield of its own excrement, a tropical beetle munches away on a leaf. Refugio Amazonas, Tambopata, Peru.

Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Colorado potato beetle. Urbana, Illinois, USA.

Asphaera sp.

A droplet-covered flea beetle in the Ecuadorian cloud forest. Mindo, Pichincha, Ecuador.