Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Chaetocnema confinis Crotch, 1873

Escarabajo, Sweet potato flea beetle

Chaetocnema confinis Crotch 1873 (ICCDRS 9677) Photo: Ashley Sheridan, CDF, 2011.
Chaetocnema confinis Crotch 1873 (ICCDRS 9677) Photo: Ashley Sheridan, CDF, 2011.

Herbivore; arid to humid forest zones; April–June; malaise, FIT, carrion trap. The species is known from many families and genera of plants and is one of the more injurious species in the genus. The adults feed on foliage and larvae on roots.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Coleoptera

Suborder
Polyphaga

Superfamily
Chrysomeloidea

Family
Chrysomelidae

Section
Alticini

Genus
Chaetocnema

Species
confinis

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1985

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Contaminant on plants (inc. seeds and plant associated material)

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: Potentially Invasive

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Fernandina, Isabela, Santa Cruz, Santiago

References

  • Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
  • Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
  • Peck, S.B. (2006) The Beetles of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity (Insecta: Coleoptera) NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 314 pp.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Chaetocnema confinis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=5681. Accessed 8 June 2026.