| Tropical milkweed leaf beetle | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Chrysomelidae |
| Genus: | Labidomera |
| Species: | L. suturella |
| Binomial name | |
| Labidomera suturella | |
Labidomera suturella, commonly known as the tropical milkweed leaf beetle is a species of beetle from the family Chrysomelidae.
L. suturella is a small, rounded beetle with a black head, pronotum, and elytra - the elytra are spotted with orange or yellow patches.
L. suturella has a native range in Central and Southern America, from Northern Mexico to Brazil.
Adults are active between April and August.
A study has shown that this species exhibits maternal care of larvae; they were observed guarding larvae whilst feeding on Witheringia heteroclita in Costa Rica This was a response to predatory threats, as worker ants of Paraponera clavata were observed carrying larvae to their nest.
As the common name suggests, L. suturella is primarily associated with milkweeds (Asclepias).