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Bruchidius cisti

Size
2.3-3.4mm
Basic colour
Blackish or brownish
Pattern colour
Dorsal pubescence short, fine, sparse and silvery-white. ventral pubescence the same as dorsally, sometimes darker with some golden setae.
Leg colour
Blackish

Batophila rubi

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Batophila
  • Batophila rubi
Common name
Raspberry Flea Beetle

Description

Size: 1.4-2mm
Basic colour: Dark brown or black; rarely with a weak metallic reflection.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Other colour forms: Rare
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour

Widespread across the Palaearctic.

Biology

Status: Widespread, especially England and Wales
Habitat: Fens, woodland, hedges, downland, heathland, scrub, commons, gold courses.
Host plant: Various Rosaceae, especially brambles (Rubus spp.) and raspberry (R. idaeus).
Overwintering: Adults in soil and moss (sometimes found in flood debris in winter)
Food: Leaves (adults) and probably roots (larvae) of host plants.
Other notes: More oval (less elongate) than B. aerata, and with wider pronotum.

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Distribution Map

Bromius obscurus

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Bromius
  • Bromius obscurus

Description

Size: 5-6mm
Basic colour: Black, covered in dull yellow-grey pubescence (basal 4 antennal segments orange-red)
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour

Following mention from Lincolnshire in 1831, 'rediscovered' in Cheshire in 1979. Well established in a single 10km square on the Cheshire/Staffordshire border around the Bosley area. Outside the UK, a widespread Holarctic species.

Biology

Status: Endangered (RDB1)
RDB Category: Endangered (RDB1)
Habitat: Known from a disused railway embankment (light sandy soil by a river)
Host plant: Rosebay willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium), other willowherbs (Epilobium spp.), grape-vine (Vitis vinifera) and giant butterbur (Petasites japonicus)
Overwintering: Larvae overwinter, developing slowly at roots of host plants, adults emerging in May.
Food: Adults feed on host plant leaves, larvae feed in groups on the roots.
Other notes: Adults parasitised by larvae of the trombidiid mite Atomus parasiticus.

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Bruchidius olivaceus

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Bruchidius
  • Bruchidius olivaceus

Description

Size: 1.9-2.8mm
Basic colour: Brownish/blackish with dorsal pubescence dense and golden, obscuring the underlying colour. Ventral pubescence silvery-white.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour.
Leg colour: As basic colour.

Biology

Status: Endangered (RDB1) and possibly extinct.
RDB Category: Endangered
Habitat: Calcareous grassland and agricultural land.
Host plant: Sainfoin Onobrychis viciifolia; possibly also rock-roses Cistus spp., brideworts Spiraea spp. and scorpion senna Hippocrepis emersus (introduced).
Overwintering: Unknown.
Food: Seeds of host plants.

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Bruchidius incarnatus

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Bruchidius
  • Bruchidius incarnatus

Description

Size: 2.5-3.5mm
Basic colour: Elytra blackish (or reddish with darker base and suture). Antennae reddish (sometimes yellowish/brownish)
Pattern colour: None.
Number of spots: None.
Pronotoum: As basic colour.
Leg colour: Reddish with black femoral bases.

Biology

Status: Very rare introduction associated with imported beans or similar produce.
Habitat: In stored produce.
Host plant: Beans and other produce.
Overwintering: In Britain, probably only indoors in storage facilities.
Food: Beans and other produce.

Distribution (may take a minute to appear)

Distribution Map

Bruchidius cisti

Taxonomy

  • Polyphaga
  • Chrysomeloidea
  • Chrysomelidae
  • Bruchidius
  • Bruchidius cisti

Description

Size: 2.3-3.4mm
Basic colour: Blackish or brownish
Pattern colour: Dorsal pubescence short, fine, sparse and silvery-white. ventral pubescence the same as dorsally, sometimes darker with some golden setae.
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: Blackish

Western Palaearctic.

Biology

Status: Widely scattered in England & Wales.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Larvae usually on various Fabaceae; adults on common rock-rose Helianthemum nummularium, broom Cytisus scoparius, lady's bedstraw Galium verum, and clustered bellflower Campanula glomerata.
Overwintering: As juveniles with new adults emerging in spring. Larvae develop in Fabaceae seeds.
Food: Larvae mine pods before penetrating seeds; adults feed on pollen.
Other notes: Eggs and larvae parasitised by several wasp species.

Distribution (may take a minute to appear)

Distribution Map

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