Paropsisterna spParopsisterna beata Paropsisterna m-fuscum Paropsisterna pictipes

— Paropsine Beetle

Described by Victor Motschulsky in 1860, the genus Paropsisterna are Leaf Beetles indigenous to Papua New Guinea and Australia. Currently (at time of writing) there are 123 species, many of which have bright aposematic colours (markings and/or coloration that serve to warm or repel predators). Many of these also feed on Eucalyptus leaves, whilst others have been sighted on the flowers of the host shrubs/trees.

There is some great photos on the iNaturalist Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelinae) of Victoria and the Canberra Nature Map All Leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae) sightings (see our Footnote & References).

Paropsisterna beata
Blessed Leaf Beetle (Paropsisterna beata), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Blessed Leaf Beetle (Paropsisterna beata), Ballandean QLD © Marc Newman
Paropsisterna fastidiosa
Paropsisterna fastidiosa, Capertee NSW © Eamonn Culhane
Paropsisterna fastidiosa, Capertee NSW © Eamonn Culhane
  • Paropsisterna fastidiosa, Capertee NSW © Eamonn Culhane
Paropsisterna laesa
Paropsisterna laesa (Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle), Alice Springs NT
Paropsisterna laesa (Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle), Alice Springs NT
Paropsisterna m-fuscum
Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle (Paropsisterna m-fuscum), Watson ACT © Tony Eales
Eucalyptus Leaf Beetle (Paropsisterna m-fuscum), Watson ACT © Tony Eales
Source: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/146953237

This section on Paropsisterna sp is a continuing work in progress…

  • Scientific classification
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Subphylum: Hexapoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Informal: Pterygotes
  • Order: Coleoptera
  • Suborder: Polyphaga
  • Superfamily: Chrysomeloidea
  • Family: Chrysomelidae
  • Subfamily: Chrysomelinae
  • Genus: Paropsisterna
  • Species: (123 species)
    • Paropsisterna aequalis (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna agricola (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna albicans (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna ambigua Daccordi, 2003
    • Paropsisterna amica (Newman, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna amoena (Clark, 1865)
    • Paropsisterna angustipes (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna annularis (Blackburn, 1899)
    • Paropsisterna anomala (Blackburn, 1901)
    • Paropsisterna atalanta (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna aurea (Blackburn, 1899)
    • Paropsisterna basalis (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna beata (Newman, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna bimaculata (Olivier, 1807)
    • Paropsisterna brunnea (Marsham, 1808)
    • Paropsisterna captiosa (Clark, 1866)
    • Paropsisterna cassidoides (Boisduval, 1835)
    • Paropsisterna cernua (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna chlorotica (Olivier, 1807)
    • Paropsisterna citrina (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna cloelia (Stål, 1860)
    • Paropsisterna coccineipennis (Weise, 1916)
    • Paropsisterna complexa (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna conferta (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna conjugata (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna crocata (Boisduval, 1835)
    • Paropsisterna debilis (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna decolorata (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna defecta (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna deflorata (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna delmastroi Daccordi, 2003
    • Paropsisterna detrita (Fabricius, 1775)
    • Paropsisterna difficilis (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna dulcior (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna elliptica (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna erudita (Newman, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna fastidiosa (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna flaveola (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna flavolimbata Daccordi, 2003
    • Paropsisterna fulvoguttata (Baly, 1866)
    • Paropsisterna fuscula (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna galatea (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna gemina (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna geniculata (Boisduval, 1835)
    • Paropsisterna giachinoi Daccordi, 2003
    • Paropsisterna gloriosa (Blackburn, 1899)
    • Paropsisterna hackeri Daccordi, 2003
    • Paropsisterna hectica (Boisduval, 1835)
    • Paropsisterna incerta (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna inconstans (Blackburn, 1899)
    • Paropsisterna insignita (Newman, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna inspersa (Newman, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna intacta (Newman, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna interlita (Newman, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna interrupta (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna interstitialis (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna intertincta (Clark, 1865)
    • Paropsisterna io (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna irina (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna irrisa (Newman, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna jawoyna Daccordi, 2003
    • Paropsisterna laesa (Germar, 1848)
    • Paropsisterna lignea (Erichson, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna lineata (Marsham, 1808)
    • Paropsisterna liturata (Marsham, 1808)
    • Paropsisterna maculicollis (Clark, 1865)
    • Paropsisterna madida (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna mentitrix (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna mera (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna m-fuscum (Boheman, 1859)
    • Paropsisterna minerva (Blackburn, 1899)
    • Paropsisterna morio (Fabricius, 1787)
    • Paropsisterna nigerrima (Germar, 1848)
    • Paropsisterna nigrita (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna nigrostillata (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna nigrovittata (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna nobilitata (Erichson, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna notabilis (Blackburn, 1896)
    • Paropsisterna nucea (Erichson, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna nupta (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna obliterata (Erichson, 1842)
    • Paropsisterna obovata (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna octolineata (Gory, 1833)
    • Paropsisterna octomaculata (Marsham, 1808)
    • Paropsisterna octosignata (Stål, 1860)
    • Paropsisterna opaciceps (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna pachyta (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna pallida (Olivier, 1807)
    • Paropsisterna philomela (Blackburn, 1901)
    • Paropsisterna pictipes (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna pluvialis (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna polyglypta (Germar, 1848)
    • Paropsisterna polyxo (Blackburn, 1901)
    • Paropsisterna proxima (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna pulverulenta (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna purpureoaurea (Clark, 1865)
    • Paropsisterna purpureoviridis Clark, 1864
    • Paropsisterna raucicollis (Blackburn, 1899)
    • Paropsisterna remota (Germar, 1848)
    • Paropsisterna rufescens (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna rufipes (Fabricius, 1801)
    • Paropsisterna rufobrunnea (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna selmani Reid & de Little, 2013
    • Paropsisterna semifumata (Blackburn, 1901)
    • Paropsisterna seminigripes (Lea, 1924)
    • Paropsisterna semivittata (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna sexpustulata (Marsham, 1808)
    • Paropsisterna simsoni (Blackburn, 1899)
    • Paropsisterna spadicea Weise, 1916
    • Paropsisterna stictica (Marsham, 1808)
    • Paropsisterna stygia (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna subcincta (Blackburn, 1898)
    • Paropsisterna subcostata (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna suspiciosa (Baly, 1866)
    • Paropsisterna tenebrosa (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna tenella (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna tessellata (Clark, 1865)
    • Paropsisterna testacea (Olivier, 1807)
    • Paropsisterna tigrina (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna trimaculata (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna variabilis (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna variicollis (Chapuis, 1877)
    • Paropsisterna vittata (Blackburn, 1899)

Footnote & References

  1. Australasian Beetles Facebook group, https://www.facebook.com/groups/1180404322409639
  2. Paropsisterna Motschulsky, 1860, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https%3A//biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/081d40fe-872b-48a3-bf1e-55369657f681
  3. Chrysomelidae, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/cbca50ba-be34-42b6-adfa-0a2941c94ef9#overview
  4. Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelinae) of Victoria, iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/15084
  5. All Leaf beetle (Chrysomelidae) sightings, Canberra Nature Map, https://canberra.naturemapr.org/categories/234
  6. Paropsisterna nobiliata, Field Guide to the Insects of Tasmania, https://tasmanianinsectfieldguide.com/hexapoda/insectsoftasmaniacoleoptera/insectsoftasmaniacoleoptera-suborder-polyphaga/superfamily-chrysomeloidea/chrysomelidae-leaf-beetles/subfamily-chrysomelinae/genus-paropsisterna/paropsisterna-nobilitata/

Paropsisterna spParopsisterna beata Paropsisterna m-fuscum Paropsisterna pictipes

ColeopteraAmarygmus sp Anoplognathus sp Aphanestes gymnopleura Buprestidae Cerambycidae Coleoptera (Beetles) Curculionidae Digitonthophagus gazella Dung Beetle Eretes australis Helea scaphiformis Johannica gemellata (Pandorea Leaf Beetle) Ladybirds (Beetles) Lepidiota Lucanidae Neospades sp Lycidae Omorgus Paropsine Beetle Paropsisterna sp Pittosporum Leaf Beetle (Lamprolina impressicollis) Protaetia fusca Pterohelaeus sp Rhipiceridae Scarabaeidae Xylophilostenus octophyllus

InsectsBees Beetles Blattodea Butterflies Coleoptera Cicada Crabronidae Diptera Dragonflies & Damselflies Formicidae Hemiptera Heteroptera (True Bugs) Mango Planthopper Moths Orthoptera Orthopteroid Processionary Caterpillar Stink Bugs, Shield Bugs and Allies Syrphidae Wasps Water Scorpion (Laccotrephes tristis) Witchetty Grub