About Labidomera clivicollis (Kirby, 1837)
The milkweed leaf beetle, also called the swamp milkweed leaf beetle, has the scientific name Labidomera clivicollis. It is a species of leaf beetle belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, and is found in eastern North America. Adult milkweed leaf beetles have rounded bodies, and measure between 8 and 11 millimeters in length. They have a black head and black pronotum, and bright orange to yellow elytra marked with variable mottled black patches. L. clivicollis somewhat resembles a large ladybird beetle. Though it does not belong to the ladybird family Coccinellidae, it is closely related, as both fall into the infraorder Cucujiformia. The larvae of L. clivicollis are light orange, white, or gray, with a black pronotum and prominent black spots on the spiracles. They have a grub-like form, and can be found feeding on milkweeds, particularly swamp milkweed. Milkweed leaf beetle larvae can be told apart from visually similar, closely related species by their color, host plant, and number of spots. For its life cycle, the female L. clivicollis lays small groups of orange, jellybean-shaped eggs on its host plant. Miniature larvae, with the same general shape as older instars, hatch after approximately one week and graze continuously both day and night. Once larvae reach maturity, they move into soil to pupate. After a few weeks, adult beetles emerge to begin the next generation, feeding on the same host plants that the larvae use. Adult milkweed leaf beetles may displace monarch larvae to feed at the same location. As autumn comes, the adults feed, then eventually find sheltered locations to overwinter.
