Donaciinae

The Donaciinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae, characterised by distinctly long antennae.^[1][2] They are found in mainly the Northern Hemisphere, with some species found in the Southern Hemisphere.^[3]

Plateumaris

Donacia palmata

Donaciinae
Donacia versicolorea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Chrysomelidae
Subfamily:	Donaciinae Kirby, 1837

Life cycle

Female Donaciinae lay eggs between aquatic plant stems and leaf sheaths.^[4] When larvae hatch they are aquatic, and attach themselves to underwater stems and roots of their plant hosts, primarily Potamogeton, for food and oxygen.^[5] Adults live in vegetation bordering ponds, marshes, lakes,^[1] and brackish water environments.^[6] While most Donaciinae have the ability to fly, fully aquatic and flightless species such as Macroplea mutica exhibit the ability to disperse long distance by surviving the passage though the gut of water birds.^[4]

Genera

These six genera belong to the subfamily Donaciinae:

• Donacia Fabricius, 1775 ^{i c g b}
• Donaciella Reitter, 1920 ^{i c g}
• Macroplea Samouelle, 1819 ^{i c g}
• Neohaemonia Székessy, 1941 ^{i c g b}
• Plateumaris Thomson, 1859 ^{i c g b}
• Poecilocera Schaeffer, 1919 ^{i c g b}

Data sources: i = ITIS,^[7] c = Catalogue of Life,^[8] g = GBIF,^[9] b = Bugguide.net^[1]