Nisotra Explained

Nisotra is a genus of flea beetles in the family Chrysomelidae. They are found in Africa, Asia, and Australia. There are around 90 described species in Nisotra, including about 70 in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Many of these species are agricultural pests.^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Description

Nisotra can be recognised by: a thickset and distinctly convex body; the pronotum as wide of the elytra basally; the pronotum anterior margin with two longitudinal groove-like impressions, often deeply impressed and sometimes reaching middle of pronotum.

Diet

Nisotra feed on plants in the families Malvaceae, Bombacaceae, Tiliaceae, Fabaceae, Rosaceae, Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Rubiaceae, Poaceae and Orchidaceae.^[7]

Larvae feed on roots (boring in stems has also been reported^[8]), while adults feed on leaves.^[9]

Pests

In the Solomon Islands, N. basselae is a pest on bele (Abelmoschus manihot). Its impact is so severe that bele is no longer grown in many places on the islands.

Nisotra chrysomeloides is a pest on okra (Abelmoschus esculentus). Its abundance varies depending on temperature, relative humidity and rainfall.^[10] Another okra pest is Nisotra sjostedti.^[11]

Species

These species, among others, belong to the genus Nisotra:

• Nisotra apicalis Jacoby 1899
• Nisotra aruwimiana Weise
• Nisotra basselae (Bryant)
• Nisotra bicolorata Csiki, 1940
• Nisotra breweri Baly, 1877
• Nisotra brunnea Jacoby 1894
• Nisotra ceylonensis Jacoby 1899
• Nisotra chapuisi Jacoby 1876
• Nisotra chrysomeloides Jacoby 1885
• Nisotra dilecta (Dalman, 1823)
• Nisotra dohertyi Maulik, 1926
• Nisotra fulva (Medvedev, 2018)
• Nisotra gemella (Erichson, 1834)
• Nisotra goudoti Harold, 1875
• Nisotra insulana Medvedev, 2008
• Nisotra javana Motschulsky, 1866
• Nisotra javanica
• Nisotra klugii Jacoby 1892
• Nisotra lineella Weise, 1916
• Nisotra madagascariensis Jacoby 1901
• Nisotra madurensis Jacoby, 1896
• Nisotra malayana Medvedev, 2016
• Nisotra mera Weise, 1916
• Nisotra nigripennis Jacoby 1903
• Nisotra nigripes Jacoby 1894
• Nisotra obliterata Jacoby
• Nisotra oneili Jacoby 1906
• Nisotra orbiculata Motschulsky, 1866
• Nisotra pallida Jacoby, 1898
• Nisotra semicoerulea Jacoby 1903
• Nisotra sjostedti Jacoby 1903
• Nisotra sordida Weise, 1916
• Nisotra spadicea (Dalman, 1823)
• Nisotra striatipennis Jacoby
• Nisotra submetallica Blackburn, 1894
• Nisotra terminata Jacoby 1894
• Nisotra theobromae Laboissiere, 1920
• Nisotra uniformis Jacoby 1906
• Nisotra xinjiangana Zhang & Yang, 2007

References

1. Web site: Nisotra. GBIF. 2021-12-17.
2. Web site: 2019-07-02. Catalogue of Alticini genera of the World (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). 2013. Nadein . K. S.. Zoological Institute, Saint-Petersburg.
3. Web site: Nisotra sjostedti. CABI Invasive Species Compendium. 2021-12-17.
4. Web site: Genus Nisotra. Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, MCZBase. 2021-12-17.
5. Web site: Nisotra. EPPO Global Database. 2021-12-17.
6. Afrotropical flea beetle genera: a key to their identification, updated catalogue and biogeographical analysis (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Galerucinae, Alticini). Maurizio. Biondi. Paola. D’Alessandro. 10.3897/zookeys.253.3414. 23378812. ZooKeys. 253. 2012. 1–158. 3560840. free.
7. Web site: Nisotra Baly, 1864 . 2022-11-08 . www.zin.ru.
8. Web site: Small Blue Leaf Beetle - Nisotra breweri . 2022-11-08 . www.brisbaneinsects.com.
9. Web site: Bele (Abelmoschus) flea beetle (022) . 2022-11-08 . apps.lucidcentral.org.
10. Mani . J. K. . Pal . S. . 2013 . Influence of weather factors on the abundance of flea beetle (Nisotra chrysomeloides Jacoby) infesting okra . Crop Research . 46 . 208–211.
11. Odewole . A F . Adebayo . T A . Dada . A O . 2016 . Efficacy of Plant Based Insecticides in Control of Leaf Defoliators (Podagrica uniformis Jacoby and Nisotra sjostedti Jacoby (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) . Journal of Northeast Agricultural University (English Edition) . en . 23 . 4 . 1–7 . 10.1016/S1006-8104(17)30001-6.