The goldenrods Solidago bicolor and S. nemoralis are scarce in the old-field habitat of a goldenrod leaf beetle, Trirhabda virgata LeConte, in central New York. Two additional species, S. caesia and S. flexicaulis, are wholly restricted to woodlands. In the laboratory only S. bicolor supported complete development and reproduction by T. virgata, but this plant was an inferior host compared to five common meadow goldenrods that had been tested previously. Nine Solidago spp. can be ranked in four categories of suitability for T. virgata. Host quality is not well correlated with taxonomic affinities of the plants.