Thistle Tortoise Beetle (IMAGE)

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology

Thistle Tortoise Beetle

Caption

As its name suggests, the thistle tortoise beetle (Cassida rubiginosa) feeds on thistle leaves. Its favorite food plant is the field thistle, a dreaded weed in agriculture worldwide. The thistle tortoise beetle, which is considered an important herbivore of the thistles, is used in biological control of the weed.

Credit

Hassan Salem, Emory University.

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