Aulacophora

{{short description|Genus of beetles}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Automatic_taxobox | image = Aulacophora nigripennis1.jpg | image_caption = ''Aulacophora nigripennis'' | taxon = Aulacophora | display_parents = 3 | authority = Chevrolat in Dejean, 1836 | type_species = ''Galleruca quadraria'' (= ''Galleruca analis'' Weber, 1801) | type_species_authority = Olivier, 1808 | synonyms_ref =<ref name="Beenen2010">{{cite book|last=Beenen|first=R.|year=2010|chapter=Galerucinae Latreille, 1802|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qt8zDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA465|pages=443–491|editor1-last=Löbl|editor1-first=I.|editor2-last=Smetana|editor2-first=A.|title=Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera. Volume 6. Chrysomeloidea|publisher=Apollo Books|place=Stenstrup, Denmark|isbn=978-87-88757-84-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Yves|last1=Bousquet|first2=Patrice|last2=Bouchard|year=2013 |title=The genera in the second catalogue (1833–1836) of Dejean's Coleoptera collection|journal=ZooKeys|issue=282|pages=1–219|doi=10.3897/zookeys.282.4401|pmc=3677338|pmid=23794836| doi-access=free |bibcode=2013ZooK..282....1B }}</ref> | synonyms = * ''Raphidopalpa'' Chevrolat in Dejean, 1836 * ''Acutipalpa'' Rosenhauer, 1856 * ''Rhaphidopalpa'' Rosenhauer, 1856 * ''Ceratia'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Triaplatys'' Fairmaire, 1877 * ''Cerania'' Weise, 1892 * ''Orthaulaca'' Weise, 1892 * ''Pachypalpa'' Weise, 1892 * ''Sphaerarthra'' Weise, 1892 }}

'''''Aulacophora''''' is a genus of beetles in the family Chrysomelidae, commonly known as '''pumpkin beetles'''; some species are pests of agricultural crops. The genus was named in 1836 by the French entomologist Louis Alexandre Auguste Chevrolat, in Dejean's ''Catalogue des Coléoptères''. The name, from Ancient Greek, signifies "furrow-bearer"' from ''aulax'', "furrow".

==Description== Beetles in this genus are oval insects up to about {{convert|8|mm|in|1|abbr=on}} long and can be recognised by their presence on the host plant.<ref name=PestNet/>

==Distribution== Pumpkin beetles are found in Africa, Asia and Australasia. Some of the more important pest species are ''A. foveicollis'' from Africa, Europe and Asia, ''A. similis'' from southern and southeastern Asia, ''A. coffeae'' from Malaysia, ''A. flavomarginata'' from Malaysia and Indonesia, ''A. femoralis'' from Myanmar and Vietnam, ''A. lewisii'' from Malaysia and Vietnam, and ''A. frontalis'' from Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.<ref name=Muniappan/>

==Hosts== Beetles in this genus feed on members of the family Cucurbitaceae including cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, watermelons, gourds and squashes.<ref name=PestNet>{{cite web |url=http://www.pestnet.org/fact_sheets/pumpkin_beetle_040.pdf |title=Pumpkin beetle |work=Pacific Pests and Pathogens Fact Sheet |publisher=PestNet |access-date=5 March 2017 |archive-date=22 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222141104/http://www.pestnet.org/fact_sheets/pumpkin_beetle_040.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Life cycle== The eggs, which are yellow, are laid in batches of up to five in the soil at the base of cucurbit plants. They hatch after eight to fifteen days and the larvae feed on the roots or tunnel into them, feeding for eighteen to thirty-five days and passing through four instar stages. They are creamy white at first but have turned yellowish-orange by the time they pupate in chambers in the ground. The adult beetles emerge after from four to fourteen days. They are strong fliers and disperse to other plants. The adult beetles may live for up to ten months and each female can lay in the order of five hundred eggs, so there can be several overlapping generations of beetles.<ref name=PestNet/><ref name=Muniappan/>

==Damage== Adult pumpkin beetles feed on the foliage and flowers of the host plants; seedlings may be destroyed by heavy attacks and young plants may be severely affected. Several beetles may cluster on a single leaf, leaving other leaves untouched. The beetles feed between the veins, often cutting and removing circular discs which they then eat.<ref name=PestNet/> The larvae tunnel into the roots, which become swollen, discoloured and distorted, and the plant may die.<ref name=Muniappan>{{cite book|author=Muniappan, R.|title=Arthropod Pests of Horticultural Crops in Tropical Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pXRVKymuLqEC&pg=PA25 |year=2012 |publisher=CABI |isbn=978-1-84593-951-9 |pages=25–26}}</ref>

==Species== The following species have been described:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bug.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230221703/http://bug.tamu.edu/research/collection/hallan/ |archive-date=30 December 2014 |title=Synopsis of the described Coleoptera of the World |work=Joe Hallan's Biology Catalogue }}</ref><ref name="Beenen2010"/><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=C.-F.|last2=Beenen|first2=R.|year=2015|title=Revision of the genus ''Aulacophora'' from Taiwan (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae)|journal=Zootaxa|volume=3949|issue=2|pages=151–190|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.3949.2.1| pmid=25947800 |url=http://publication.plazi.org/id/D165F85031507B3DFFE1F72BFFC1FF82 |doi-access=}}</ref><ref name="ReidHallingBeatson2021">{{cite journal|last1=Reid|first1=Chris|last2=Halling|first2=Luke|last3=Beatson|first3=Max|year=2021|title=Revision of the Australopapuan and West Pacific species of plain pumpkin beetles, the ''Aulacophora indica'' species-complex (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae)|url=http://treatment.plazi.org/GgServer/summary/BD6A5C2E3F53E54C7018C346FFC94012|journal=Zootaxa|volume=4932|issue=1|pages=1–73|doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4932.1.1|pmid=33756812|s2cid=232338962|archive-date=4 February 2025|access-date=8 May 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250204092652/https://treatment.plazi.org/GgServer/summary/BD6A5C2E3F53E54C7018C346FFC94012|url-status=live}}</ref> {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''Aulacophora abdominalis'' (Fabricius, 1781) * ''Aulacophora aculeata'' Weise, 1908 * ''Aulacophora affinis'' (Montrouzier, 1855) * ''Aulacophora albofasciata'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora analis'' (Weber, 1801) * ''Aulacophora ancora'' (Redtenbacher, 1868) * ''Aulacophora andamanica'' Duvivier, 1885 * ''Aulacophora antennata'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora apicicornis'' (Baly, 1889) * ''Aulacophora apicipennis'' (Jacoby, 1894) * ''Aulacophora apicipes'' (Jacoby, 1896) * ''Aulacophora apiciventris'' Lea, 1924 * ''Aulacophora approximata'' (Baly, 1886) * ''Aulacophora arcuata'' Allard, 1888 * ''Aulacophora atripennis'' (Fabricius, 1801) * ''Aulacophora baliensis'' Barroga, 2001 * ''Aulacophora barrogae'' Reid, Halling & Beatson, 2021 * ''Aulacophora basalis'' (Jacoby, 1886) * ''Aulacophora batesi'' Jacoby, 1884 * ''Aulacophora bhamoensis'' Jacoby, 1892 * ''Aulacophora bhimtalensis'' Gangola, 1969 * ''Aulacophora bicincta'' (Montrouzier, 1855) * ''Aulacophora bicolor'' (Weber, 1801) * ''Aulacophora bipartita'' (Baly, 1888) * ''Aulacophora biplagiata'' Baly, 1889 * ''Aulacophora bipunctata'' (Olivier, 1808) * ''Aulacophora blackburni'' (Bowditch, 1914) * ''Aulacophora borrei'' (Baly, 1889) * ''Aulacophora calva'' Anand & Cox, 1986 * ''Aulacophora carinicauda'' Chen & Kung, 1959 * ''Aulacophora carteri'' (Guerin-Meneville, 1830) * ''Aulacophora castanea'' Allard, 1888 * ''Aulacophora celebensis'' (Jacoby, 1886) * ''Aulacophora chapuisi'' Duvivier, 1884 * ''Aulacophora chlorotica'' (Olivier, 1808) * ''Aulacophora cincta'' (Fabricius, 1775) * ''Aulacophora cinctipennis'' Duvivier, 1884 * ''Aulacophora circumcincta'' (Duvivier, 1884) * ''Aulacophora circumdata'' Blanchard, 1853 * ''Aulacophora coffeae'' (Hornstedt, 1788) * ''Aulacophora coomani'' Laboissiere, 1929 * ''Aulacophora coralinsula'' (Gressitt, 1955) * ''Aulacophora cornuta'' Baly, 1879 * ''Aulacophora costipennis'' (Baly, 1886) * ''Aulacophora crassicornis'' Medvedev, 2001 * ''Aulacophora cristovallensis'' (Montrouzier, 1855) * ''Aulacophora cruenta'' (Fabricius, 1781) * ''Aulacophora cucullata'' Blackburn, 1896 * ''Aulacophora cyanoptera'' (Boisduval, 1835) * ''Aulacophora danumensis'' Mohamedsaid, 1994 * ''Aulacophora deplanchei'' (Perroud, 1864) * ''Aulacophora dimidiata'' (Guerin-Meneville, 1830) * ''Aulacophora diversa'' Baly, 1889 * ''Aulacophora doesonensis'' Duvivier, 1884 * ''Aulacophora dorsalis'' (Boisduval, 1835) * ''Aulacophora downesi'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora duboulayi'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora excavata'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora excisa'' (Baly, 1886) * ''Aulacophora fallax'' (Weise, 1923) * ''Aulacophora fasciata'' (Allard, 1888) * ''Aulacophora ficus'' (Montrouzier, 1855) * ''Aulacophora flavicornis'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora flaviventris'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora flavomarginata'' (Duvivier, 1884) * ''Aulacophora formosa'' Chapuis, 1879 * ''Aulacophora foveata'' (Bowditch, 1925) * ''Aulacophora foveicollis'' (Lucas, 1849) * ''Aulacophora frontalis'' Baly, 1888 * ''Aulacophora frubstorferi'' (Duvivier, 1891) * ''Aulacophora fulvimargo'' (Bryant, 1936) * ''Aulacophora funesta'' (Weise, 1892) * ''Aulacophora gestroi'' Jacoby, 1892 * ''Aulacophora hayashii'' (Gressitt, 1955) * ''Aulacophora hilaris'' (Boisduval, 1835) * ''Aulacophora impressa'' (Fabricius, 1801) * ''Aulacophora indica'' (Gmelin, 1790) * ''Aulacophora insularis'' Jacoby, 1886 * ''Aulacophora ioptera'' (Wiedemann, 1823) * ''Aulacophora irpa'' Mohamedsaid, 1994 * ''Aulacophora jacobyi'' (Weise, 1924) * ''Aulacophora kampeni'' (Weise, 1917) * ''Aulacophora kinabaluensis'' Mohamedsaid, 1994 * ''Aulacophora kotoensis'' Chujo, 1962 * ''Aulacophora laevifrons'' (Baly, 1888) * ''Aulacophora laysi'' Medvedev, 2001 * ''Aulacophora leopoldi'' Laboissiere, 1934 * ''Aulacophora lewisii'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora limbata'' (Illiger, 1800) * ''Aulacophora loochooensis'' Chujo, 1957 * ''Aulacophora loriana'' Jacoby, 1904 * ''Aulacophora luteicornis'' (Fabricius, 1801) * ''Aulacophora macropus'' (Montrouzier, 1855) * ''Aulacophora marginalis'' (Chapuis, 1876) * ''Aulacophora marginata'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora mariana'' (Chujo, 1943) * ''Aulacophora martia'' (Weise, 1922) * ''Aulacophora mbabaram'' Reid, Halling & Beatson, 2021 * ''Aulacophora medioflava'' Lea, 1924 * ''Aulacophora medvedevi'' Samoderzhenkov, 1992 * ''Aulacophora melanocephala'' Jacoby, 1892 * ''Aulacophora melanoptera'' (Boisduval, 1835) * ''Aulacophora melanopus'' (Blanchard, 1853) * ''Aulacophora melanura'' (Olivier, 1808) * ''Aulacophora militaris'' Jacoby, 1894 * ''Aulacophora mimica'' Medvedev, 2001 * ''Aulacophora mjoebergi'' (Weise, 1916) * ''Aulacophora moluccaensis'' (Laboissiere, 1932) * ''Aulacophora montrouzieri'' (Fairmaire, 1883) * ''Aulacophora mouhoti'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora naseemi'' Abdullah & Qureshi, 1968 * ''Aulacophora nigripennis'' Motschulsky, 1857 * ''Aulacophora nigrobrunnea'' (Maulik, 1929) * ''Aulacophora nigropalgiata'' Jacoby, 1894 * ''Aulacophora nigrosignata'' (Baly, 1886) * ''Aulacophora nilgiriensis'' Jacoby, 1903 * ''Aulacophora notulata'' (Fairmaire, 1850) * ''Aulacophora nstabilis'' (Baly, 1886) * ''Aulacophora nusantara'' Barroga, 2001 * ''Aulacophora oblonga'' (Gyllenhal, 1808) * ''Aulacophora occipitalis'' (Baly, 1888) * ''Aulacophora olivieri'' (Baly, 1888) * ''Aulacophora opacipennis'' Chujo, 1962 * ''Aulacophora orientalis'' (Hornstedt, 1788) * ''Aulacophora pahangi'' Mohamedsaid, 1994 * ''Aulacophora palliata'' (Schaller, 1783) * ''Aulacophora pallidofasciata'' Jacoby, 1904 * ''Aulacophora pannonica'' Csiki, 1953 * ''Aulacophora papuana'' Jacoby, 1894 * ''Aulacophora parambikulamensis'' Maulik, 1936 * ''Aulacophora perroudi'' (Baly, 1888) * ''Aulacophora plicaticollis'' (Allard, 1888) * ''Aulacophora postica'' (Chapuis, 1876) * ''Aulacophora posticalis'' (Guerin-Meneville, 1830) * ''Aulacophora propinqua'' (Baly, 1886) * ''Aulacophora pulchella'' Baly, 1879 * ''Aulacophora pygidialis'' (Baly, 1886) * ''Aulacophora quadrimaculata'' (Fabricius, 1781) * ''Aulacophora quadrinotata'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora quadripartia'' (Fairmaire, 1877) * ''Aulacophora quadrispilota'' Fabricius, 1781 * ''Aulacophora quinqueplagiata'' (Duvivier, 1891) * ''Aulacophora relicta'' (Boisduval, 1835) * ''Aulacophora rigoensis'' Jacoby, 1904 * ''Aulacophora robusticornis'' Medvedev, 2001 * ''Aulacophora rosea'' (Fabricius, 1801) * ''Aulacophora rubrontata'' Blanchard, 1853 * ''Aulacophora semilimbata'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora serena'' (Weise, 1923) * ''Aulacophora signata'' Kirsch, 1866 * ''Aulacophora signata'' Kirsch, 1866 * ''Aulacophora smaragdipennis'' Duvivier, 1884 * ''Aulacophora sordidula'' (Weise, 1922) * ''Aulacophora subcaerulea'' Jacoby, 1894 * ''Aulacophora tetraspilota'' (Baly, 1886) * ''Aulacophora tibialis'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora transversa'' Allard, 1888 * ''Aulacophora tricolora'' (Weise, 1892) * ''Aulacophora tristis'' Medvedev, 2001 * ''Aulacophora unicolor'' (Jacoby, 1883) * ''Aulacophora varians'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora vicina'' (Boisduval, 1835) * ''Aulacophora vietnamica'' Medvedev, 2001 * ''Aulacophora viridis'' Maulik, 1936 * ''Aulacophora vittula'' (Chapuis, 1876) * ''Aulacophora wallacii'' Baly, 1886 * ''Aulacophora wilsoni'' Baly, 1888 * ''Aulacophora yunnanensis'' Chen & Kung, 1959 {{div col end}}

The following described species are considered ''nomina dubia'', because their poor descriptions and missing type material mean they cannot be identified to species:<ref name="ReidHallingBeatson2021"/> * ''Aulacophora artensis'' (Montrouzier, 1861) – from New Caledonia; probably a synonym of ''Aulacophora abdominalis'' (Fabricius, 1781), or possibly a pale form of ''Aulacophora deplanchei'' (Perroud, 1864); type material probably lost * ''Aulacophora flavescens'' (Montrouzier, 1855) – from both Woodlark Island and San Cristoval Island; possibly a species of the ''Aulacophora indica'' species complex * ''Aulacophora flaveola'' (Boisduval, 1835) – from New Guinea; formerly treated as a possible senior synonym of ''Aulacophora aruensis'' (Weise, 1892); not identifiable to genus * ''Aulacophora punctata'' (Boisduval, 1835) – from New Guinea; not identifiable to genus * ''Aulacophora scutellata'' (Boisduval, 1835) – from the "Pacific Ocean"; originally treated as a synonym of ''Aulacophora wilsoni'' Baly, 1888, but more likely a synonym of ''Candezea palustris'' (Perroud & Montrouzier, 1864)

The following are now synonyms of other species: * ''Aulacophora almora'' Maulik, 1936: synonym of ''Aulacophora tibialis'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora argyrogaster'' (Montrouzier, 1861): synonym of ''Aulacophora abdominalis'' (Fabricius, 1781) * ''Aulacophora armigera'' Baly, 1889: synonym of ''Aulacophora abdominalis'' (Fabricius, 1781) * ''Aulacophora aruensis'' (Weise, 1892): synonym of ''Aulacophora abdominalis'' (Fabricius, 1781) * ''Aulacophora ceramensis'' (Weise, 1892): synonym of ''Aulacophora indica'' (Gmelin, 1790) * ''Aulacophora dohrni'' (Jacoby, 1899): synonym of ''Aulacophora tibialis'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora duvivieri'' Baly, 1886: synonym of ''Aulacophora cornuta'' Baly, 1879 * ''Aulacophora fabricii'' Baly, 1886: synonym of ''Aulacophora abdominalis'' (Fabricius, 1781) * ''Aulacophora femoralis'' (Motschulsky, 1857): synonym of ''Aulacophora indica'' (Gmelin, 1790) * ''Aulacophora flavipes'' (Jacoby, 1888): synonym of ''Aulacophora indica'' (Gmelin, 1790) * ''Aulacophora niasiensis'' (Weise, 1892): synonym of ''Aulacophora indica'' (Gmelin, 1790) * ''Aulacophora nigripalpis'' Chen & Kung, 1959: synonym of ''Aulacophora apicipes'' (Jacoby, 1896) * ''Aulacophora quadraria'' (Olivier, 1808): synonym of ''Aulacophora analis'' (Weber, 1801) * ''Aulacophora ritsemae'' Duvivier, 1884: synonym of ''Aulacophora tibialis'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora robusta'' Duvivier, 1884: synonym of ''Aulacophora cornuta'' Baly, 1879 * ''Aulacophora semifusca'' Jacoby, 1892: synonym of ''Aulacophora tibialis'' Chapuis, 1876 * ''Aulacophora similis'' (Olivier, 1808): synonym of ''Aulacophora indica'' (Gmelin, 1790) * ''Aulacophora tenuicincta'' (Jacoby, 1897): synonym of ''Aulacophora apicipes'' (Jacoby, 1896) * ''Aulacophora terminata'' (Jacoby, 1899): synonym of ''Aulacophora tibialis'' Chapuis, 1876

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Aulacophora Category:Agricultural pest insects Category:Chrysomelidae genera Category:Taxa named by Louis Alexandre Auguste Chevrolat