Oulema melanopus
Size
4..3-5.3mm
Basic colour
Dark blue (elytra) and orange-red
Pattern colour
None
Leg colour
Orange-red with dark tarsi
Oulema melanopus
Taxonomy
- Polyphaga
- Chrysomeloidea
- Chrysomelidae
- Oulema
- Oulema melanopus
Common name
Cereal Leaf Beetle
Description
Size: 4..3-5.3mm
Basic colour: Dark blue (elytra) and orange-red
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: Orange-red
Leg colour: Orange-red with dark tarsi
Confusion species: Oulema rufocyanea
Basic colour: Dark blue (elytra) and orange-red
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: Orange-red
Leg colour: Orange-red with dark tarsi
Confusion species: Oulema rufocyanea
Not separated from O. rufocyanea by British coleopterists until the 1990s. Therefore many records before this could be attributed to either species. For a map of this undifferentiated data see here.
Biology
Status: Widespread and often common, especially in England and Wales.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various cereals and grasses; oats and barley are preferred over wheat, which is in turn preferred over rye, maize and wild grasses.
Overwintering: Adults overwinter from September to April/May.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Other notes: Very similar to O.rufocyanea, but usually larger with more convex elytra. Certain separation requires dissection of the aedeagus which has a thick flagellum in O. melanopus and a thin one in O. rufocyanea.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various cereals and grasses; oats and barley are preferred over wheat, which is in turn preferred over rye, maize and wild grasses.
Overwintering: Adults overwinter from September to April/May.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Other notes: Very similar to O.rufocyanea, but usually larger with more convex elytra. Certain separation requires dissection of the aedeagus which has a thick flagellum in O. melanopus and a thin one in O. rufocyanea.
Distribution (may take a minute to appear)
Distribution Map
Oulema rufocyanea
Size
4.0-4.8mm
Basic colour
Dark blue (elytra) and orange-red
Pattern colour
None
Leg colour
Orange-red with dark tarsi
Oulema rufocyanea
Taxonomy
- Polyphaga
- Chrysomeloidea
- Chrysomelidae
- Oulema
- Oulema rufocyanea
Description
Size: 4.0-4.8mm
Basic colour: Dark blue (elytra) and orange-red
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: Orange-red
Leg colour: Orange-red with dark tarsi
Confusion species: Oulema melanopus
Basic colour: Dark blue (elytra) and orange-red
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: Orange-red
Leg colour: Orange-red with dark tarsi
Confusion species: Oulema melanopus
Biology
Status: Widespread and common, especially in England.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various cereals and grasses
Overwintering: Adults hibernate in tussocks.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Other notes: Very similar to O.melanopus, but usually smaller with flatter elytra. Certain separation requires dissection of the aedeagus which has a thick flagellum in O. melanopus and a thin one in O. rufocyanea.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various cereals and grasses
Overwintering: Adults hibernate in tussocks.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Other notes: Very similar to O.melanopus, but usually smaller with flatter elytra. Certain separation requires dissection of the aedeagus which has a thick flagellum in O. melanopus and a thin one in O. rufocyanea.
Distribution (may take a minute to appear)
Distribution Map
Cassida vittata
Size
5.0-6.5mm
Basic colour
Yellow or pale green (when alive, with a gold-silvery elytral stripe between striae 2 and 6).
Pattern colour
None
Leg colour
Yellow, sometimes with narrow darkening at the femoral bases.
Cassida vittata
Taxonomy
- Polyphaga
- Chrysomeloidea
- Chrysomelidae
- Cassida
- Cassida vittata
Common name
Borded Tortoise Beetle
Description
Size: 5.0-6.5mm
Basic colour: Yellow or pale green (when alive, with a gold-silvery elytral stripe between striae 2 and 6).
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: Yellow, sometimes with narrow darkening at the femoral bases.
Confusion species: Cassida nobilis
Basic colour: Yellow or pale green (when alive, with a gold-silvery elytral stripe between striae 2 and 6).
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: Yellow, sometimes with narrow darkening at the femoral bases.
Confusion species: Cassida nobilis
Biology
Status: Patchy, often coastal.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various Chenopodiaceae including goosefoots, oraches and beet. Also various species in other families.
Overwintering: Adults hibernate in tussocks.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Other notes: Similar to C. nobilis. Elongate-oval (less rounded than many Cassida), rear angles of the pronotum obtuse rather than rounded. Antennae yellow.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various Chenopodiaceae including goosefoots, oraches and beet. Also various species in other families.
Overwintering: Adults hibernate in tussocks.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Other notes: Similar to C. nobilis. Elongate-oval (less rounded than many Cassida), rear angles of the pronotum obtuse rather than rounded. Antennae yellow.
Distribution (may take a minute to appear)
Distribution Map
Cassida viridis
Size
7-10mm
Basic colour
Green
Pattern colour
None
Leg colour
As basic colour
Cassida viridis
Taxonomy
- Polyphaga
- Chrysomeloidea
- Chrysomelidae
- Cassida
- Cassida viridis
Common name
Green Tortoise Beetle
Description
Size: 7-10mm
Basic colour: Green
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Basic colour: Green
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Biology
Status: Widespread, especially in England and Wales.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various Lamiaceae.
Overwintering: Adults hibernate in tussocks.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Other notes: Pronotum narrower than elytra. Elytra with splayed margins not bounded on the inside by a line of coarse punctures. Underside black, abdomen with broad yellow edges.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various Lamiaceae.
Overwintering: Adults hibernate in tussocks.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Other notes: Pronotum narrower than elytra. Elytra with splayed margins not bounded on the inside by a line of coarse punctures. Underside black, abdomen with broad yellow edges.
Distribution (may take a minute to appear)
Distribution Map
Cassida vibex
Size
5.5-7.5mm
Basic colour
Green or yellowish-green. When alive, usually with a variable metallic reflection.
Pattern colour
Elytra with a triangular spot around the scutellum and dark spots on the suture (which may fuse to form a broad dark sutural band merging with the scutellar spot). Usually also a small black spot near the middle or outside of the elytra.
Spot fusions
Sometimes
Leg colour
As basic colour
Cassida vibex
Taxonomy
- Polyphaga
- Chrysomeloidea
- Chrysomelidae
- Cassida
- Cassida vibex
Description
Size: 5.5-7.5mm
Basic colour: Green or yellowish-green. When alive, usually with a variable metallic reflection.
Pattern colour: Elytra with a triangular spot around the scutellum and dark spots on the suture (which may fuse to form a broad dark sutural band merging with the scutellar spot). Usually also a small black spot near the middle or outside of the elytra.
Number of spots: Variable
Spot fusions: Sometimes
Pronotoum: As basic colour; sometimes with two small dark spots near the rear edge (these may be more extensive in some specimens).
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Cassida rubiginosa
Basic colour: Green or yellowish-green. When alive, usually with a variable metallic reflection.
Pattern colour: Elytra with a triangular spot around the scutellum and dark spots on the suture (which may fuse to form a broad dark sutural band merging with the scutellar spot). Usually also a small black spot near the middle or outside of the elytra.
Number of spots: Variable
Spot fusions: Sometimes
Pronotoum: As basic colour; sometimes with two small dark spots near the rear edge (these may be more extensive in some specimens).
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Cassida rubiginosa
Biology
Status: Widespread south and east of a line from the Severn to the Humber; scattered elsewhere.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various Asteraceae.
Overwintering: Unknown, though adults have been recorded in January and February.
Food: Leaves of host plants.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various Asteraceae.
Overwintering: Unknown, though adults have been recorded in January and February.
Food: Leaves of host plants.