[3] These beetles are able to fly short distances (10–20 m), but are rarely seen doing so as their wings are mostly for motor function, such as turning themselves over.

[5] Early studies of Chelymorpha alternans show that the beetle was originally documented to be found throughout Central America, South America and parts of the Caribbean in countries such as Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.

[6] More recent studies confirm distribution of the beetle from western Costa Rica to the Darien province of Panama.

[7] The Neotropical tortoise beetle has been found to inhabit a range of elevations from sea level to 1000 meters.

[3] Different color phenotypes of the neotropical tortoise beetle have also been shown to have different distributions across habitats as well, specifically in Panama.

[4] The neotropical tortoise beetle is an oligophagous herbivore, consuming the native host plants that it lives on.

The beetle possesses a wider-ranging diet than other closely related beetles in the Cassidinae family as experimentally, the beetle has also been observed consuming several nonnative host plants such as Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lamand, Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth, Ipomoea tricolor Cav., and Convolvulus arvensis L.[3] Young larvae do not consume leaf veins and instead consume leaf mesophyll close to the egg mass.

Females tend to mate once in their lifetime but are able to produce egg masses after their first copulation until their death.

[3] During copulation, 4 major movements are observed in the beetle including: soft pumping of the aedagus, swaying of the female's elytra, body jerking and vibration of the head.

Flagella length is not selected against as when it reaches the ampulla, it becomes trapped and the flagellum coils on itself to maintain proper location to ensure mating success, allowing runaway selection for flagellum length.

In exchange for this protection, beetles serve as a vessel for spreading the fungus to its host plants.