April 2004. A beetle from New Caledonia. It was identified as Phola octodecimguttata, a pest of Vitex throughout southeast Asia and southwest Pacific, e.g., New Caledonia, Cairns, Australia. It seems to be spreading associated with nurseries and urban landscaping. It was seen in Sydney in 2006. The larvae hide in tubes of their own excrement in branch angles, feeding on foliage at night. Unusually, larvae pupate on the plant (rather than in soil) so the beetle is easily transported with at all stages of lifecycle.

See: http://www.faunanet.gov.au/faunakeys/chrysomelinae_intro.htm and: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/taxa/Coleoptera.html (issue number 1292, in two parts).

Identified by the Australian Museum, Sydney.