Elm leaf beetle

Xanthogaleruca luteola (Müller) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Orientation to pest

Elm leaf beetle, Xanthogaleruca luteola (Müller), is an introduced insect in North America of European or Asian origin that feeds on elms (Ulmus). It overwinters as an adult in protected locations. Eggs are laid in clusters on elm leaves and larvae feed as leaf skeletonizers, while adults produce shot-hole damage to leaves. Eggs are pointed, rather than oval in outline. Pupation occurs at the base of infested trees. Two generations may occur per year.

Hosts commonly attacked

This beetle feeds on various imported or native elms (Ulmus), and is important as a pest of American elm (Ulmus americana L.)

Distribution

This invasive insect is found throughout the United States and southern Canada, wherever elms occur naturally or have been planted as ornamentals.

Images of elm leaf beetle

Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024 Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024		Gyorgy Csoka, Hungary Forest Research Institute, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Figure 1. Adults of elm leaf beetle, Xanthogaleruca luteola		Figure 2. Cluster of elm leaf beetle eggs
Lacy L. Hyche, Auburn University, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024 Gyorgy Csoka, Hungary Forest Research Institute, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024 Gyorgy Csoka, Hungary Forest Research Institute, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024
Figure 3. Larvae of elm leaf beetle (young larvae, left; older larvae, center; close up of mature larva, right)
Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024	James Solomon, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org 768x512 / 1536x1024 Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - Forestry Archive, Bugwood.org 768x512
Figure 4. Pupae of elm leaf beetle	Figure 5. Elm leaves skeletonized by elm leaf beetle larvae (left), and with shot-hole damage from adult feeding (right)

Bruno Lavoue 768x512	Jack Kelly Clark, University of California - Statewide IPM Program, Bugwood.org UC • IPM library 768x512
Figure 6. Oomyzus gallerucae is an important egg parasitoid affecting elm leaf beetle populations in some parts of the United States	Figure 7. The tachinid Erynniopsis antennata is an introduced larval parasitoid of elm leaf beetle

Important biological control agents related to this pest species

Oomyzus gallerucae (Fonscolombe) (=Tetrastichus gallerucae [Boy]) is an introduced egg parasitoid of elm leaf beetle that is found in Missouri, where it is of major importance, and in California. The tachinid Erynniopsis antennata (Rondani) is an introduced larval parasitoid of elm leaf beetle that is established in California and of moderate importance there.

Web links for information on elm leaf beetle

• IPM helps control elm leaf beetle | University of California
  Peer-reviewed research article from volume 52 of Calfifornia Agriculture.
• Fact Sheet | Colorado State University Extension
• Agricultural MU Guide | University of Missouri Extension
• Home & Garden Circular | Maryland Cooperative Extension

Articles

• Dreistadt, S. H. and D. L. Dahlsten. 1990. Distribution and abundance of Erynniopsis antennata (Dipt.: Tachinidae ) and Tetrastichus brevistigma [Hym.: Eulophidae ], two introduced elm leaf beetle parasitoids in northern California. BioControl 35: 527-536.
• Dreistadt, S. H. and D. L. Dahlsten. 1991. Establishment and overwintering of Tetrastichus gallerucae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an egg parasitoid of the elm leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in northern California. Environmental Entomology 20: 1711-1719.
• Meiners, T. and M. Hilker. 1997. Host location in Oomyzus gallerucae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an egg parasitoid of the elm leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Oecologia 112: 87-93.
• Puttler, B. and W. C. Bailey. 2003. Establishment of Oomyzus gallerucae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), an egg parasite of the elm leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), in Missouri and adjacent states. Biological Control 27 20-24.