''Gastrophysa viridula'', known as the green dock beetle (note: the similar ''
Gastrophysa cyanea'' in North America is also called the green dock beetle), green dock leaf beetle or green sorrel beetle, is a species of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
native to
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
Description
The length of the green dock beetle varies between sexes, with the males being 4 mm and the females being 7 mm. During the mating season, females have enlarged abdomens. Both sexes are green with a metallic shimmer, which, depending on the light, can be gold green, blue, purple, violet, or red. The legs of this species also shimmer a metallic green, and are strongly built. The
antennae are serrated and are medium in length.
[
]
Subspecies
*''Gastrophysa viridula pennina'' (Weise __NOTOC__
Weise is a surname, meaning "wise" or "prudent" in German.
Notable people with the name include:
A
*Andreas Weise (born 1986), Swedish singer and songwriter
* Agustín Saavedra Weise (born 1943), Bolivian diplomat and writer
*Arne Wei ...
, 1882)
*''Gastrophysa viridula viridula'' (De Geer, 1775)
Distribution and habitat
The green dock beetle is commonly found in central Europe, also common and widespread in Britain. Its range extends eastward into western Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
and the Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains,
: pronounced
* hy, Կովկասյան լեռներ,
: pronounced
* az, Qafqaz dağları, pronounced
* rus, Кавка́зские го́ры, Kavkázskiye góry, kɐfˈkasːkʲɪje ˈɡorɨ
* tr, Kafkas Dağla ...
. They are found in heathlands, forests, meadows, and gardens with the presence of plant dock ('' Rumex''), the beetles' food plant.[
]
Diet
The green dock beetle feeds mainly on dock and green sorrel, rarely feeding on other plants in the families Polygonaceae
The Polygonaceae are a family of flowering plants known informally as the knotweed family or smartweed—buckwheat family in the United States. The name is based on the genus '' Polygonum'', and was first used by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in 1 ...
, Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...
, Violaceae
Violaceae is a family of flowering plants established in 1802, consisting of about 1000 species in about 25 genera. It takes its name from the genus ''Viola'', the violets and pansies.
Older classifications such as the Cronquist system placed t ...
, and Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the borage or forget-me-not family, includes about 2,000 species of shrubs, trees and herbs in 146, to 156 genera with a worldwide distribution.
The APG IV system from 2016 classifies the Boraginaceae as single family of the or ...
. The larvae can only completely develop on ''Rumex'' species.[
]
Life cycle
The green dock beetle's breeding season is from March to October. There are 2 to 4 broods per year, with the last brood hibernating as an adult. The female lays over 1,000 eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
, laying them in clusters of 20 to 45 on the underside of the food plant's leaves. The eggs are oval in shape, and are cream to yellow, turning orange prior to hatching. After about 3 to 6 days, the 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.
...
hatches from the egg. It varies in color from greenish gray to dark brown. Its body is segmented, and will reach a length of 8 mm. Young larvae will drop to the ground if disturbed while feeding, while older larvae secrete a substance which repels competitors from eating the food plant leaves. After three instar
An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ...
s, the larva pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...
tes in a burrow about 2 cm underground. The adult emerges 6 to 9 days later.[
A multilayer composed of chitin layers alternated with layers which also contain ]melanin
Melanin (; from el, μέλας, melas, black, dark) is a broad term for a group of natural pigments found in most organisms. Eumelanin is produced through a multistage chemical process known as melanogenesis, where the oxidation of the amino ...
is responsible for the green colouration (this phenomenon is known as structural colour). The development has been investigated using advanced imaging techniques, showing that the multilayer forms during pupation and schlerotisation.
Gallery
File:Thomas Bresson - Gastrophysa viridula-2.jpg, mating couple
File:Green dock beetle (Gastrophysa viridula) pregnant female.JPG, pregnant female
File:Coleoptera-Chrysomelidae-Gastrophysa-viridula-201205060102.JPG, female laying eggs
File:Gastrophysa.viridula4.-.lindsey.jpg, larvae
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gastrophysa Viridula
Chrysomelinae
Beetles of Europe
Beetles described in 1775
Taxa named by Charles De Geer