Caudal projections and shields are investigated in tortoise beetles and leaf-mining beetles (sensu Staines 2002). Variation in caudal projections include abdominal segments, sclerite composition, numbers, orientation, setation, mobility, and instars. Shields were found to be composed of feces, feces and exuviae, or exuviae alone, and varied widely in their architecture. The origins, relationship, and radiation of processes and shields are discussed under three alternative phylogenetic hypotheses, Borowiec 1995, Hsiao and Windsor 1999, and Chaboo 2003. Selective forces which may drive evolution in these two features are discussed.
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