Viburnum leaf beetle
| Viburnum leaf beetle | |
|---|---|
| Dorsal view | |
| Lateral view | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Chrysomelidae |
| Subfamily: | Galerucinae |
| Tribe: | Galerucini |
| Genus: | Pyrrhalta |
| Species: | P. viburni |
| Binomial name | |
| Pyrrhalta viburni (Paykull, 1799) | |
Pyrrhalta viburni is a species of leaf beetle native to Europe and Asia, commonly known as the viburnum leaf beetle. It was first detected in North America in 1947 in Ontario, Canada. However, specimens had been collected in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia in 1924. In 1996 it was discovered in a park in New York, where native plantings of arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum complex) were found to be heavily damaged by larval feeding. The UK-based Royal Horticultural Society stated that its members reported Pyrrhalta viburni as the "number one pest species" in 2010.
The spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris is used and developed as a biological control agent against the beetle.