small orange tortoise beetle

Small orange tortoise beetle is a native leaf beetle. It occurs in the United States from Maine to northern Georgia, west to North Dakota and Arkansas. It occurs in southern Canada from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan.

Adults are active from May through August. Both adults and larvae are food specialists. They feed on the leaves of field bindweed, hedge bindweed, and wild potato vine.

Adults are 3⁄16″ to ¼″ (5.4 to 6.5 mm) in length. The body is oval when viewed from above, convex when viewed from the side.

The head is completely concealed beneath the pronotum when viewed from above. The eyes are not notched. The antennae have 11 segments. They are long but less than half as long as the body. They are extended when at rest. The underside of the prothorax has ridged grooves toward each side for the antennae to be tucked into. The mouthparts are directed downwards.

Broad, flattened, translucent margins of the prothoracic shield (pronotum) and wing covers (elytra) create a hard, domed, shiny, almost continuous, turtle-like shell (carapace) over the entire body. The coloration is variable, from medium brownish orange to dark orangish brown.

The rear margin of the pronotum has a short, straight area in the middle. The surface is smooth.

The lateral margin of each elytron is smoothly convex, the central pigmented area is deeply concave, and there is a broad, dark, diffuse, C-shaped band delimiting the two. The surface has longitudinal rows of fine punctures (pits) down the middle.

The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments. The fourth segment is very short and is concealed within the broadened tip of the third segment, making the tarsus appear to have only four segments. The last segment bears a pair of claws. The claws are toothed at the base. On the male, the claws on the middle legs are untoothed.

Total length: 3⁄16″ to ¼″ (5.4 to 6.5 mm)

Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium), and wild potato vine (Ipomoea pandurata).

May through August

Leaves

Leaves

Sources

29, 30, 82, 83.

Babette Kis
6/20/2025

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

Charidotella purpurata, a small orange tortoise beetle, found at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI. on June 20, 2025. These beetles are easily overlooked, as they are about 5mm long and look like dead plant matter when they aren't moving.