Monolepta


Monolepta is a genus of skeletonizing leaf beetles in the family Chrysomelidae. It is the most diverse and widely distributed genus in the Galerucinae sensu stricto, with more than 700 described species occurring almost worldwide. It is missing from the Nearctic realm.
The genus was first established by Louis Alexandre Auguste Chevrolat in 1836 to include species of Galerucinae with an elongated basi-metatarsus. The generic name Monolepta is derived from the Greek and . In 1875, Félicien Chapuis established the supra-generic group "Monoleptites", which included other Galerucinae with an elongated basi-metatarsus. Other genera traditionally placed in this group include, for example, Luperodes, Candezea and Barombiella. The group "Monoleptites" was later found to be polyphyletic, as an elongated basi-metatarsus has evolved multiple times in the Galerucinae.

Selected species

Monolepta albipunctata Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021Monolepta alticola Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021Monolepta annamita Laboissiere, 1889Monolepta australis Jacoby, 1882Monolepta bioculata Monolepta bivittata Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021Monolepta cavipennis Baly, 1878Monolepta cruciata Guérin de Méneville, 1847Monolepta hagiangana Bezděk & Beenen, 2020Monolepta kuroheri Kimoto, 1966Monolepta leechi Jacoby, 1890Monolepta leuce Weise, 1903Monolepta marginella Weise, 1903Monolepta melanogaster Monolepta mengsongensis Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021Monolepta pallidula Monolepta quadriguttata Monolepta rubripennis Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021Monolepta rufofulva Chujo, 1938Monolepta sauteri Chujo, 1935Monolepta signata Monolepta violacea Jacoby, 1888