Rumex Leaf Beetle
Gastrophysia ?
Observed feeding on leaves of Rumex usambarensis along the Elgeyo Escarpment, Kenya, July 2014. Specimens are about 3 mm long.
Leaf Beetles are a very large family of insects with thousands of species in an extraordinary array of colors. The majority feed on plant leaves where they leave characteristic holes. Both the adults and the larvae chew the leaves and most chrysomelid species feed on just a few closely related plant species. Quite a few species are iridescent blue-black to green and many of these can defend themselves from insectivorous birds with noxious chemical secretions.