Creature Feature #410: Leaf Beetle

The Leaf Beetles are a huge Family of beetles, containing over 30,000 species and with many representatives across an array of Genera. Their preferred diet is leaves, and some species - like this Lily Leaf Beetle - are considered pests. The Lily Leaf Beetle is native to parts of Asia and Europe. It was introduced to North America in the 1940s, probably through the importation of plant bulbs. It is the larvae that are the most destructive, moving along the leaf of their lily host and devouring the rest of the plant. They then burrow into the ground to pupate and hatch out as adult beetles.

And here's an unidentified species of Leaf Beetle that I drew first, because it was rather pretty.