Eggplant Totoise Beetle – Gratiana pallidula

Eggplant Totoise Beetle – Gratiana pallidula Common Name: Eggplant Totoise Latin Name:  Gratiana pallidula Appearance: Adult: Pronotum light green, elytra light golden brown with explanate, transparent margins in most live individuals; the colour of dead specimens primarily medium brown with lighter brownish-yellow margins; body oblong; elytral margins nearly parallel-sided for more than half of their length; elytral disc with many small surface pits arranged in several longitudinal rows. Larva: may be entirely green and have a faecal shield over its back. Host plant: Solanum plants are the primary host plants, such as S. melongena, S. elaegnifolium, S. carolinese, and S. xantii. Territory: It is found in both Central and North America. Damages caused by Eggplant Totoise Beetle: Gratiana pallidula feeds on and infests Solanum plants, notably eggplant (S. melongena), common horsenettle (S. carolinese), grey horsenettle (S. xantii), and white horsenettle (S. elaegnifolium). Adults and larvae bite holes in host plants’ leaves, inflicting damage to the plant. Life history and Habits: Gratiana pallidula is a holometabolous organism that passes through egg, larva, pupa, and adult phases. Adults that have overwintered first-generation lay eggs as early as May, with the second generation of eggs in June or July. Larvae appear after a week or two. There are five instars in the larval stage. Before pupating, larvae may abandon the host plant. Pupae form between a week and three weeks later and adhere to the top surface of host plant leaves for two to ten days. First-generation adults often appear in late June, with second-generation adults emerging in early August. They hibernate for the winter from late August to early September. From egg to adult, one generation typically takes 30 to 35 days.