Bug FAQCamphorweed Chrysomelid
Zygogramma heterothecae · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Chrysomelidae
The camphorweed chrysomelid is a tiny leaf beetle with a brown front shield and yellow wing covers marked by long brown stripes. Adults live only on camphorweed plants (Heterotheca subaxillaris). It is native to North America.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
You can recognize it by its brown pronotum and yellow elytra with elongated brown stripes.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It is a small beetle, easily overlooked.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Adults are found exclusively on camphorweed (Heterotheca subaxillaris).
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Both larvae and adults feed only on camphorweed (Heterotheca subaxillaris).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species originates from North America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 8 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Florida, New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Utah, Oklahoma, South Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does the camphorweed chrysomelid look like?
It has a brown pronotum and yellow wing covers with long brown stripes.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Chrysomelidae)
Spotted Cucumber BeetleDiabrotica undecimpunctataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Bean WeevilAcanthoscelides obtectusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Cowpea WeevilCallosobruchus maculatusDamages trees, gardens or crops
Swamp Milkweed Leaf BeetleLabidomera clivicollisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Alder Leaf BeetleAgelastica alniDamages trees, gardens or crops
Dogbane Leaf BeetleChrysochus auratusSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calligrapha_heterothecae
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.