Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Galerucinae
Length: 6-12 mm
Beetles in the genus Trirhabda are similar to other non-Flea Beetle members of subfamily Galerucinae. Look for color, stripes and spots similar to those on the beetle pictured above. The fourth antennal segment is notably longer than the third. The sides of the elytra are close to parallel, but the elytra are a little broader at the rear.
Trirhabda virgata has black stripes that reach essentially all the way to the rear of the elytra, though the actual rear margins of the elytra are yellow. The size and shape of the spots on the pronotum and elytra are also diagnostic features (see photo). Another Trirhabda species, T. adela, is very similar, but it has not been recorded from West Virginia.
Trirhabda virgata has been reported from about half of West Virginia's fifty-five counties, with a majority of collections coming in July.
Insects of West Virginia
