Trachymela sp. (genus)

Brown button beetle at Black Range, NSW

Trachymela sp. (genus) at Black Range, NSW - 12 Sep 2020
Trachymela sp. (genus) at Black Range, NSW - 12 Sep 2020
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Identification history

Trachymela sp. 18 Oct 2020 KimPullen
Trachymela sp. 18 Oct 2020 KimPullen
CHRYSOMELIDAE (family) 12 Sep 2020 StephH

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User's notes

Never seen this one before. About 12 mm long and found eating Grevillea rhyolitica. I'm guessing genus Paropsis or Paropsisterna, but there are so many ...

3 comments

JackieMiles wrote:
   13 Sep 2020
Aren't there just? I trawled through pages and pages of images of those two genera and found a site with one that looks similar, Paropsis aegrota, found by Aust Plants Society Wed Walkers group in Namadgi NP and ID'd by Roger Farrow, so not too far away and with what should be a reliable ID. Check it out here: http://franmart.blogspot.com/2011/04/blundells-creek-road.html I've added that species to the list in case and will suggest it, as a starting point. Images of that species on the web are not identical to yours, but the basic pattern of brown with white spots and a white edging to the wing cases is the same.
StephH wrote:
   13 Sep 2020
Thanks Jackie. I saw that species on another site but rejected it as not the same, but you're probably right to consider it a starting point.
KimPullen wrote:
   18 Oct 2020
The black dorsal mark suggests Trachymela stigma as illustrated at https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:27912515-7c8b-4e5b-a29c-0ecf8ab6b200#overview . But there are so many species in the genus, and they are so poorly studied that I would be reluctant to go further than genus.
Very interesting that it was feeding on Grevillea - I have not previously heard of any Paropsis-group member feeding on Proteaceae.

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