Members of the Chrysomelidae family are distinguished by their enlarged metafemora and their ability to jump up to 100 times their length.

While adults are cream colored with irregular reddish patterns, larvae are typically gray with yellow stripes.

There are nineteen genera in this group, and they share similarities in eye shape, metatibial, aedageal, and spermathecal morphology.

All Blepharida adults typically lay clusters of eggs on branches and protect them with fecal material covering.

Host versus non-host plants have been found to differ in the amount of chemicals that B. rhois larvae can incorporate into their defense, specifically the presence of tannic acid conjugates and of phytol.

Larvae, after emerging from the fecula after 10 to 14 days, will crawl up the stems of the Rhus plant and feed on the youngest leaf tissue or flower bud.

[7] Larvae, unable to fly and lacking a hard protective cuticle, face exposure and vulnerability to predators.

The fecal shield provides a source of chemical defense, so the larvae deter predators that want to take advantage of its vulnerability while feeding.

[4] Adults will then emerge in the early summer after approximately two weeks and feed on leaves through September before moving to sheltered areas for protection against winter.

Flea beetles will find a protected place such as under leaves, dirt, or weeds along fields or ditches to escape the winter.

Females are typically fecund and long lived, and they oviposit over several weeks, but reproduce no more than two new generations per summer.

Chemical analysis conducted on these fecal shields have found that they are formed primarily from primary and secondary metabolites obtained from the host plant with little modification.

[5] The presence of a meta femoral spring in the femur of the beetle’s hind legs allows them to perform a catapult jump.

This jumping ability is an effective method for this species to avoid predators, as they are quickly able to disappear from the surface of the leaf they are feeding on.

[9] The ability of the flea beetle to jump to high distances despite its small size depends on the presence of a meta femoral spring in the femur of its hind legs.

An internal structure called Lever’s triangular plate also works in conjunction with the meta femoral spring.

Phase two then begins where in 4 to 5 ms, the angle increases to 60 degrees, and elastic strain energy cumulatively builds.

The meta femoral spring is then stretched by the tibia extensor muscle, creating a catapult mechanism in the femur.

In phase 3, once the accumulated tension reaches its maximum, the triangular plate is dislodged in 1 to 2 ms, resulting in an explosive jump.

Insecticides may be applied to branches and leaves of plants shortly after egg hatching to control larvae feeding.