Taxonomy
- Polyphaga
- Chrysomeloidea
- Chrysomelidae
- Aphthona
- Aphthona euphorbiae
Common name
Large Flax Flea Beetle, or Flax and Linseed Flea Beetle
Images
Source: Roger Key
Source: Dave Hubble
Source: Dave Hubble
Source: Dave Hubble
Description
Size: 1.8-2.0mm
Basic colour: Shiny black or dark metallic greenish to bronze.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Aphthona ?atratula
Basic colour: Shiny black or dark metallic greenish to bronze.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Aphthona ?atratula
Biology
Status: Widespread.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various, though flax is favoured.
Overwintering: Adults hibernate under bushes and among leaves.
Food: Adults feed on leaves and possibly pollen, also new stems, seedlings and cotyledons; larvae feed on roots.
Other notes: Head dull, pronotum finely punctured and usually with weak longitudinal wrinkles.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various, though flax is favoured.
Overwintering: Adults hibernate under bushes and among leaves.
Food: Adults feed on leaves and possibly pollen, also new stems, seedlings and cotyledons; larvae feed on roots.
Other notes: Head dull, pronotum finely punctured and usually with weak longitudinal wrinkles.
Articles
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(1998), Increased abundance and spread of Aphthona euphorbiae (Schrank) and Longitarsus parvulus (Paykull) (Chrysomelidae) in Oxfordshire The Coleopterist 7(1):11
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(1998), Aphthona euphorbiae (Schrank) (Chrysomelidae) feeding on pteridophyte spores The Coleopterist 7(3):93
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(1997), Aphthona euphorbiae (Schrank) (Chrysomelidae) in Cumbria The Coleopterist 5(3):89