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Lilioceris cheni
Air potato leaf beetle on an air potato leaf
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Criocerinae
Tribe: Criocerini
Genus: Lilioceris
Species:
L. cheni
Binomial name
Lilioceris cheni
Gressit & Kimoto, 1961

Lilioceris cheni, the air potato leaf beetle, is a species of beetle in the genus Lilioceris that feeds on air potato plants. Air potatoes and the beetles are both native to Asia but have been introduced elsewhere. The air potato plants are an invasive species found throughout Florida, and the beetles were introduced in 2012 by biologists in Florida to help control the spread of the air potato. [1]

See also

  • Lilioceris egena, another species being introduced in Florida from Nepal and China. The females lay eggs on the air potato tibers ans the larvae feed on them
==References==
  1. ^ Nature Conservancy Magazine February / March 2015

Further reading