TYT.LThome / Insecta · vabzdžiai / Coleoptera · vabalai / Chrysomelidae · lapgraužiai

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creation date / 2003

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  • leaf beetles
  • Blattkäfer
  • lapgraužiai
  • lapgraužu dzimta
  • stonkowate

With over 37,000 currently known species in more than 2,500 genera, it is one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families. Adult and larval leaf beetles feed on all sorts of plant tissue.

Adults of leaf beetles are small to medium-sized, i.e. most species range from 1.0 to 18 mm in length, excluding appendages. The bodies of most species are domed, and oval in dorsal view (though some are round or elongated), and they often possess a metallic luster or multiple colors. In most specimens, the antennae are notably shorter than head, thorax, and abdomen, i.e. not more than half their combined length. The second antennal segment is of normal size (which differentiates leaf beetles from the closely related longhorn beetles). In most species, the antennal segments are of a more or less equal shape, at most they gradually widen towards the tip, although some Galerucinae in particular have modified segments, mainly in males. The first segment of the antenna in most cases is larger than the following ones. The pronotum of leaf beetles varies between species. In most, it is slightly to highly domed and trapezoidal to rounded-squarish in dorsal view. In some subfamilies such as the Cassidinae and to a lesser extent the Cryptocephalinae, the head is covered by the pronotum and thus not visible from above. The first three sternites are not fused, instead being linked by mobile sutures. Most species possess wings, although the level of development and thus flight ability varies widely, including within a single species, and some are flightless with fused elytra.

Pasaulyje daugiau kaip 37 tūkst. rūšių, Lietuvoje – apie 300. Vabalai vidutinio dydžio arba smulkūs, dažniausiai ovališkos formos. Nugara iškili, kūno apačia plokščia. Antenos karoliškos, visuomet nukreiptos pirmyn. Kojos trumpos, letenos su tankiai plaukuotais padais. Lapgraužių spalva labai įvairi, dažniausiai metalo žvilgesio. Kiaušinėlius prilipdo prie augalų lapų ar deda juos į dirvą. Kartais juos užmaskuoja pridėtinių liaukų išskyromis. Lervų kūno forma įvairi, dažniausiai su spalvotų karpelių eilėmis. Lapgraužiai ir jų lervos apgraužia įvairių augalų lapus, kai kurios rūšys pavojingos žemės ūkio kultūroms.