Green Tortoise Beetle Research Paper

The green thistle beetle or tortoise beetle, Cassida rubiginosa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a leaf feeding beetle that belongs to the subfamily Cassidinae (hereafter Cassida), is with a green dorsal surface with yellowish elytral margins and black underneath. It can be found in Europe, the United States and Canada (Asadi et al., 2013). It feeds primarily on California thistle, although it is an oligophagous/ phytophagous feeder (Cripps, 2013, Fujiyama et al., 2011). This beetle was well studied in its native range, particularly in North America, Japan and Europe (Majka and Lesage, 2008).

Adult beetle is about 6 -8 mm in length and shows hibernation. Adults usually become active in early spring (Majka and Lesage, 2008), i.e. around mid-September