Australian tortoise beetle
Trachymela sloanei
The Australian tortoise beetle is a small leaf beetle that lives on eucalyptus trees. At home in Australia it is just one of many bugs. But it has travelled to other countries, where it causes trouble for eucalyptus trees.
Lives in
Australia, and now also California, Chile, China and southern Europe
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. It only harms eucalyptus trees.
What does it eat?
It eats the leaves of eucalyptus trees.
How fast is it?
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
Australian tortoise beetle about 0.5 km/h (0.31 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
In California it is an invasive pest, which means it arrived from far away and causes problems.
2
It has recently settled in Shenzhen in China, Chile, Spain, Portugal and Greece.
3
It belongs to the leaf beetles, a huge family of plant-eating beetles.
you asked
Most asked questions about Australian tortoise beetle
?What does the Australian tortoise beetle eat?
Eucalyptus leaves.
?Where does the Australian tortoise beetle live?
It comes from Australia but now also lives in California, Chile, China and southern Europe.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Trachymela sloanei
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Chrysomelidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Chrysomelidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania, North America, South America, Asia, Europe
- Also known as
- Small eucalyptus tortoise beetle
Where the facts come from
- Trachymela sloanei (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Jon Sullivan. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Stag beetle
Hercules beetle
Common glow-worm
Goliath beetle
Cockchafer
Mealworm beetle
Redwood sideband
Mesoamerican bumble bee
Pale-shouldered flatbug
False underwing
Forest semilooper
Number eighty