Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle vs Cowpea Weevil

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle Cowpea Weevil
Scientific Name Labidomera clivicollis Callosobruchus maculatus
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Chrysomelidae
Size 8-12 mm 2-4 mm
Habitat Grasslands Farmland
Diet Herbivores Seed Feeders
Regions North America Africa (native), pantropical, cosmopolitan
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Green Milkweed Leaf Beetle

A large, handsome beetle with blue-black elytra marked with orange to cream-colored spots and a blue-black pronotum. It is commonly found on milkweed plants across North America.

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Did You Know?

Like monarch butterflies, this beetle sequesters toxic cardiac glycosides from milkweed, and its bold coloration warns predators of its unpalatability.

Cowpea Weevil

A small, reddish-brown to dark beetle with mottled elytra and a prominent pygidium bearing two dark spots. It is one of the most destructive pests of stored cowpeas and other pulses.

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Did You Know?

Females glue their eggs directly onto the surface of bean seeds, and the larvae bore into the seed immediately upon hatching.