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 1836Chevrolat, L.A.A. (1836). [new taxa]. In: Dejean, P.F.M.A. Catalogue des Coléoptères de la collection de M. le comte Dejean. Deuxième édition. [Livraison 5]. Paris: Méquignon-Marvis Père et Fils. pp. 361–443. to include species of Galerucinae with an elongated basi-metatarsus (the first tarsomere of the hind leg). The generic name Monolepta is derived from the Greek (monos, meaning 'one') and (leptos, meaning 'thin, slender'). 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, 2021 Monolepta alticola Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021 Monolepta annamita Laboissiere, 1889 Monolepta australis Jacoby, 1882 Monolepta bioculata (Fabricius, 1781) Monolepta bivittata Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021 Monolepta cavipennis Baly, 1878 Monolepta cruciata Guérin de Méneville, 1847 Monolepta hagiangana Bezděk & Beenen, 2020 Monolepta kuroheri Kimoto, 1966 Monolepta leechi Jacoby, 1890 Monolepta leuce Weise, 1903 Monolepta marginella Weise, 1903 Monolepta melanogaster (Wiedemann, 1823) Monolepta mengsongensis Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021 Monolepta pallidula (Baly, 1874) Monolepta quadriguttata (Motschulsky, 1860) Monolepta rubripennis Lei, Xu, Yang & Nie, 2021 Monolepta rufofulva Chujo, 1938 Monolepta sauteri Chujo, 1935 Monolepta signata (Olivier, 1808) Monolepta violacea Jacoby, 1888
References
Further reading