''Altica oleracea'' is a species of leaf beetle belonging to the family

Chrysomelidae The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

, subfamily

Galerucinae The Galerucinae are a large subfamily of the leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), containing about 15,000 species in more than 1000 genera, of which about 500 genera and about 8000 species make up the flea beetle tribe Alticini. The division into tr ...

Etymology

Its specific name ''oleracea'' means "related to vegetables/herbs" in Latin and is a form of ().

Subspecies

Subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

include: * ''Altica oleracea subsp. breddini'' (Mohr, 1958) * ''Altica oleracea subsp. oleracea'' (Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution and habitat

Chrysomelidae - Altica oleraceae - mating

This species is present in whole

Palaearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

. except Northern Africa.Fauna Europaea
/ref> Bushes and shrubs form their typical habitat.

Description

''Altica oleracea'' can reach a body length of about . Their color varies between metallic green, blue-green, blue to golden green. Legs and antennae are dark. The posterior femora are thickened. The pronotum has a delicate transverse furrow on the basal half. The elytra are finely punctured. Altica oleracea is difficult to distinguish from related species. This is usually only possible by examining the male genitalia.UK Beetle Recording
/ref>iři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al.: Käfer Mittel- und Nordwesteuropas. Parey Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1, Seiten 295, 296. http://coleonet.de/coleo/texte/altica.htm Kafer Europas

Biology

These beetles are observed from March to autumn. In early summer they lay their eggs on their host plants, which are also their forage plants. Infact

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

e and

adult An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...

s of ''Altica oleracea'' are

phytophagous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

, feeding on various plants, especially

Onagraceae The Onagraceae are a family of flowering plants known as the willowherb family or evening primrose family. They include about 650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

and

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

species.Nioinfo
/ref>

Bibliography

*Anderson, R., Nash, R. & O'Connor, J.P.. 1997, Irish Coleoptera: a revised and annotated list, Irish Naturalists' Journal Special Entomological Supplement, 1-81 *du Chatenet, G, 2000, Coléoptères Phytophages D’Europe, , NAP Editions, *Joy, N.H., 1932, A practical handbook of British beetles, , H.F. & G. Witherby, * This article has been expanded using, inter alia, material based on a translation of an article from the Deutsch Wikipedia, by the same name.

External links

Invertebrate Online

Aramel

References

Beetles described in 1758 Beetles of Europe Alticini Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Galerucinae-stub