A Comparison of Rolled Leaf Beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in the Families Marantaceae and Heliconiaceae of Costa Rica

https://kent-islandora.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/node/10157/10418-thumbnail.jpgIn the tropics, a group of tropical chrysomelid beetles live their lives within the immature, rolled leaves of Heliconia and Calathea plants. Within the rolled leaves, the beetles are able to obtain anything they’d need: shelter, food, and a breeding habitat. In this study, chrysomelid beetles were collected from within the rolled leaves of the Heliconiaceae and Marantaceae families of two field stations in Costa Rica. Two genera of beetles were present within the sampled plants, Cephaloleia and Chelobasis. Within these genera, there were a total of eight beetle species. Some of these beetle species showed plant-host specificity. The remaining beetle species were found to generalists in relation to their host plant. Overall, the beetle community dynamics differed between the beetles found in the two plant families