Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle silhouette

Silhouette: Birgit Lang · PhyloPic

Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle

Silana farinosa

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%

12 Verified sightings at Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]
January Best month

About the Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle

Silana farinosa, commonly known as curry-leaf tortoise beetle, is a species of leaf beetle native to Indo-China, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and introduced to Peninsular Malaysia. Female is larger than male. Adult female is about 7.5 mm long and male is about 6.5 mm. Body globular and tortoise-like. Body color pale yellow when freshly hatched from eggs, but gradually turns dark brown few hours after moulting. With time, beetle becomes whitish after completely covered with a waxy deposit. Head flattened and hypognathous. Eyes elongate oval. Antennae with 11 segments. Prothorax extended over head. Prothorax is trapezoidal. Scutellum triangular. Elytral apex smooth, shiny and without punctures. Ventrum impunctate with fine hairs.

Eggs which are 5 mm long are spindle-shaped where the dorsum reddish brown and ventrum brownish orange. There are five larval instars stages of the grub. Larva is elongated with tapering forked end. There are about 8 thoracic pairs of spines, and 8 abdominal pairs of spines. Early instar grub is yellowish green and final instar grub is greenish black. Head, legs, prothorax, and dorsum of ninth abdominal segment are blackish. There are three pairs... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
2 Kuala Lumpur 🇲🇾 Malaysia
~10%
3 Singapore 🇸🇬 Singapore
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle sighting in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 121st most-seen of the 182 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

January and February

In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] on a given day, against under 5% in March to August, the lowest months. Those are among Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]'s driest months, with about 75 mm of rain a month against 310 mm in November.

Is Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] the best place to see a Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle?

Yes

Of the 3 cities where we can rate Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle sightings, Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] has the highest daily chance: about 10%. Next come Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia, about 10%) and Singapore (Singapore, under 5%).

Which relatives of the Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle live in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte]?

Same family: Chrysomelidae

The closest relatives of the Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle that you can see in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (family Chrysomelidae, Leaf Beetles) are Green Tortoise Beetle (about 10%) and Monolepta signata (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Curry-Leaf Tortoise Beetle is recorded against all the insects logged in Colombo [Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte] (12 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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