Callistola

Introduction

Callistola Dejean (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae) contains 43 species found throughout the Pacific Region (Staines 2012) and is in need of revision. Gressitt (1957, 1960, 1963) has provided keys to the species from various Pacific areas. Two species of Callistola have been reported feeding on palms.

Distribution

Callistola ruficollis (Spaeth) is found in the Admiralty Islands.

Callistola tripartita (Fairmaire) is found in Australia, and Bismarck Archipelago (New Britain, Duke of York, New Ireland, and Tabor).

Hosts

Callistola ruficollis feeds on Cocos nucifera L. (Arecaceae) and perhaps Heliconia (Heliconiaceae) (Risbec 1950).

Callistola tripartita feeds on Pandanus spp. (Pandanaceae) (Froggatt 1939) and Cocos nucifera L. (Risbec 1950) (Arecaceae).

Damage

Adults and larvae of C. tripartita feed on the basal surfaces of emerging leaves. Feeding channels are parallel to the leaf veins (Gressitt 1957).

Life history notes

Eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of C. tripartita are all found on emerging leaves (Gressitt 1957).

Bibliography

Froggatt, J. L. 1939. The coco-nut leaf-miners Promecotheca papuana, Csiki (antiqua Wse.). The New Guinea Agricultural Gazette 5 (1): 3-10.

Gressitt, J. L. 1957. Hispine beetles from the South Pacific (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Nova Guinea n. s. 8:205‑324.

Gressitt, J. L. 1960. Papuan-West Polynesian hispine beetles (Chrysomelidae). Pacific Insects 2: 1-90.

Gressitt, J. L. 1963. Hispine beetles (Chrysomelidae) from New Guinea. Pacific Insects 5: 591‑714.

Risbec, J. 1950. Les Hispidae des plantes cultivées. Revue Internationale de Botanique Appliquée et d’Agriculture Tropicale 30: 378-396.

Staines, C. L. 2012. Tribe Cryptonychini. Catalog of the hispines of the world (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Cassidinae). http://entomology.si.edu/Collections_Coleoptera.html