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Cheiloxena cf. westwoodii
A 7 mm long sturdy looking brown beelte with a ridged elytra. Antennae were moderately long. Legs showed thick femurs.
Spotted on some undergrowth in a reserve - plant species not known.
Occurrence record:
http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:b...
My thanks to Michael Geiser for his help with the ID and information. He says " This is a species of Cheiloxena, most likely Cheiloxena westwoodii Baly, 1860. This genus used to be part of Eumolpinae until fairly recently, but has now been placed in Spilopyrinae, a newly established subfamily, found only in Australia, New Caledonia and Chile."
Michael, thanks again for persisting with this and for the valuable information. Much appreciated.
Actually, after reading some more literature on Australian chrysomelids, I think I was wrong with Eumolpinae. This is a species of Cheiloxena, most likely Cheiloxena westwoodii Baly, 1860. This genus used to be part of Eumolpinae until fairly recently, but has now been placed in Spilopyrinae, a newly established subfamily, found only in Australia, New Caledonia and Chile.
Michael, thanks so much for the correction. Thinking back I should not have so readily assumed it was a longicorn given the doubts I had about the eyes and antennae (and probably other features I don't know much about !)
I don't think that's a longicorn. It looks much more like a chrysomelid of the subfamily Eumolpinae.
Spotted on Jan 24, 2015
Submitted on Jan 24, 2015
