Bug FAQGoldenrod Leafminer
Microrhopala vittata · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Chrysomelidae
Also called: Goldenrod Leaf Miner Beetle
Source: Wikipedia
Adults are tiny, about five to six millimetres long. They range in colour from red to black and have a lighter stripe on the wing covers. They eat a variety of goldenrod species and some silphium and euthamia plants, mining the leaves.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Their colour varies from red to black with a lighter stripe on each elytron.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults measure about five to six millimetres in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found across many Canadian provinces and U.S. states.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
They feed on numerous goldenrod species, several silphium species, and Euthamia graminifolia.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults emerge in April and females lay eggs in small clusters, covering them with frass.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adult beetles appear in the spring, beginning in April.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Their native range covers much of North America, from Canada to the United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 46 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants does the goldenrod leafminer damage?
It mines the leaves of many goldenrod species as well as some silphium and Euthamia plants.
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/Microrhopala_vittata
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.