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Chrysolina banksi

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Chrysolina
  • Chrysolina banksi

Description

Size: 8.0-10.7mm
Basic colour: Metallic bronze
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: Orange-brown to dark brown

Biology

Status: Widespread, especially in the south-west; usually coastal, can be locally common.
Habitat: Various open habitats, but also valley woodland.
Host plant: Various, especially ribwort plantain and a range of Lamiaceae, including mints.
Overwintering: Usually as larvae; also as adults in warmer locations.
Food: Leaves
Other notes: Similar to C. staphylaea, but larger. No metallic reflection. Elytral punctures sparse and random. Now more correctly known as C. banksii.

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Chrysolina cerealis

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Chrysolina
  • Chrysolina cerealis
Common name
Rainbow Leaf Beetle

Description

Size: 7-8mm
Basic colour: Bands of metallic green, blue and gold/red
Pattern colour: Head, pronotum and elytra with bands of metallic green, blue and gold/red
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: Bands of metallic green, blue and gold/red
Leg colour: Dark metallic greenish-bronze
Confusion species: Chrysolina americana

Only known from Snowdon and nearby montane grassland. There is a UK biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) page here.

Biology

Status: Endangered (RDB1), UKBAP species.
Habitat: Montane grassland on and near Snowdon.
Host plant: Wild thyme (Thymus polytrichus)
Overwintering: As any stage, but mostly as larvae.
Food: Flowers (in preference) and leaves of wild thyme.

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Chrysolina americana

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Chrysolina
  • Chrysolina americana
Common name
Rosemary Beetle

Description

Size: 6.7-8.1mm
Basic colour: Dark metallic green with metallic red markings
Pattern colour: Dark metallic green background; metallic red markings on pronotum, plus metallic red longitudinal stripes on elytra.
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: Dark metallic green with metallic red markings
Leg colour: Red
Confusion species: Chrysolina cerealis

Native of southern Europe; in Britain, first recorded in Surrey in 1963. The RHS have a survey for this species here.

Biology

Status: Not threatened
Habitat: Gardens, plant nurseries, parks.
Host plant: Various Lamiaceae; especially rosemary and lavender, also sage and thyme
Overwintering: Unknown location, but adults do overwinter.
Food: Host plants; adults feed on leaves at the tips of shoots, larvae also feed on foliage.
Other notes: Elytra also has red margins, fine punctures in double rows and smooth intervals. Pronotum not punctured.

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Chrysolina polita

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Chrysolina
  • Chrysolina polita

Description

Size: 5.9-8.6mm
Basic colour: Metallic green with red-brown/orange-brown elytra
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Other colour forms: Rare
Pronotoum: Metallic green
Leg colour: Metallic green

Probably the commonest and most widespread British species of Chrysolina.

Biology

Status: Widespread and common
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various Lamiaceae, especially mints; also on nettles and ivy
Overwintering: Adults hibernate in logs and under bark etc. from October to March/April.
Food: Adults and larvae feed on leaves; adults may also feed on pollen.
Other notes: Occasionally, the pronotum is red-purple; rarely, the metallic green colour is replaced by blue.

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Chrysolina sturmi

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Chrysolina
  • Chrysolina sturmi

Description

Size: 5.8-9.4mm
Basic colour: Metallic purple
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: Mostly as basic colour but tarsi paler orange-brown

Biology

Status: Scarce (Notable B); scattered, mainly in the south of England.
Habitat: Chalk downs ith scrub, unimproved chalk grassland, heaths, scrub, disturbed ground on base-rich soil.
Host plant: Ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea)
Overwintering: Unknown location, but adults do overwinter.
Food: Leaves of ground-ivy
Other notes: The orange-brown palps and tarsi separate this from the all-dark but superficially similar Timarcha goettingensis. Now more accurately known as C. sturmi.

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Timarcha tenebricosa

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Timarcha
  • Timarcha tenebricosa
Common name
Bloody-nosed Beetle

Description

Size: 11-18mm
Basic colour: Blue-black
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Timarcha goettingensis

The largest British chrysomelid, known for exuding a drop of red fluid from the mouth when alarmed.

Biology

Status: Not threatened, though may be declining in eastern midland England.
Habitat: Various, mainly open, especially on free-draining soils.
Host plant: Bedstraws (Galium), crosswort (Cruciata laevipes), woodruffs (Asperula) and madders (Rubia)
Overwintering: Adults can survive for 14 months or more, and so can be found in all months.
Food: Adults and larvae feed on leaves and stems of bedstraws
Other notes: Duller than T. goettingensis with random, dense, tiny punctures. Pronotum constricts more sharply after rounded hind-angles than in T. goettingensis.

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