Curry-leaf Tortoise Beetle

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 of lateral ocelli and a pair of knob-like antennae. Prothorax has two shiny black patches dorsally and two pairs of spinulate projections. Mesothorax has three pairs of projections ad metathorax with two pairs of projections. Abdomen has nine segments. Average length of the final instar is about 10 mm. Pupa is about 7 mm long, and light brown in color.