Eumolpus robustus

Eumolpus robustus is a species of leaf beetle from North America.^[3][4][5][6] It has the most northern range of the members of the genus Eumolpus, spanning from Central America north to Mexico and Arizona.

Eumolpus robustus
Eumolpus robustus, Mexico
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Chrysomelidae
Genus:	Eumolpus
Species:	E. robustus
Binomial name
Eumolpus robustus (Horn, 1885)[1]
Synonyms[2]
Chrysochus robustus Horn, 1885

History of research

Eumolpus robustus was first described as Chrysochus robustus by the American entomologist George Henry Horn in 1885, from specimens collected in Arizona. However, Horn later synonymised it with Eumolpus surinamensis, following Martin Jacoby's description from 1882.^[7] In Špringlová's revision of the genus Eumolpus in 1960, E. robustus was restored as a separate species within the genus, as it was determined to be a very different species from E. surinamensis.^[2]

Description

Adults have a length of 10–14 mm. They are colored green, blue, coppery or purple, and have shiny strongly-punctuated elytra.^[2]

Distribution

E. robustus is distributed from Central America north to Mexico and Arizona. In Central America, it is recorded from Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.^[2]

Food plants

E. robustus feeds on plants in the family Apocynaceae.^[6] In Central America, it is associated with plants of the genera Gonolobus and Funastrum. In Mexico, it has been recorded from the species Parkinsonia aculeata.^[8]