''Lilioceris merdigera'' is a species of 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

Criocerinae The Criocerinae are a subfamily of the leaf beetles, or Chrysomelidae. Tribes and genera * Tribe Criocerini Latreille, 1804 ** '' Crioceris'' Geoffroy, 1762 ** ''Lilioceris'' Reitter, 1912 * Tribe Lemini Heinze, 1962 ** '' Lema'' Fabricius, ...

Distribution

This species can be found in most Europe (especially in Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Russia, and Slovakia) and in the eastern

Palearctic 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 ...

(China, Japan, and Taiwan). It has been introduced also in Brazil and Mexico.Biolib
/ref>

Habitat

These shining leaf beetles inhabit edges of forests, fields and gardens.

Description

''Lilioceris merdigera'' can reach a length of 6–8 mm. Head, pronotum, elytra, femora and tibiae are bright red and

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

bear several rows of dots. It can be easily distinguished by the similar ''

Lilioceris lilii ''Lilioceris'' is a genus of beetles in the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. The genus was first scientifically described in 1912 by Edmund Reitter. ''Lilioceris'' belongs to the subfamily Criocerinae and tribe Criocerini (Latreille, 1807). Th ...

'' which has black instead of red legs and head.Helena Kroo
Biology of Lilioceris lilii and the occurrence of their parassitoids in Sweden
/ref> This species is also similar to '' Lilioceris schneideri''.

Biology

The larvae are typically covered by blackish mucilaginous substances mixed with their own faeces, that seem to have a protective function. The specific epithet ''merdigera'' derives from its habit, from Latin ''merda'' (dung) and ''gero'' (to carry). The adult beetles can produce chirping sounds through their stridulation apparatus on the anal segment.M Schmit
Stridulaton in leaf beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)
/ref> Adults overwinter in the soil. They emerge in April and May and can be seen until September. After mating, the females lay their yellow to brownish eggs on the underside of leaves of the host plants in rows with about six eggs. Eggs hatch into larvae in one-two weeks. After a month the larvae pupate in the soil. In about 20 days the adults emerge. Both the adults and the larvae feed on the leaves, buds, stems and flowers of several plants, mainly

Liliaceae The lily family, Liliaceae, consists of about 15 genera and 610 species of flowering plants within the order Liliales. They are monocotyledonous, perennial, herbaceous, often bulbous geophytes. Plants in this family have evolved with a fair ...

Alliaceae Allioideae is a subfamily of monocot flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, order Asparagales. It was formerly treated as a separate family, Alliaceae. The subfamily name is derived from the generic name of the type genus, ''Allium''. ...

and

Asparagaceae Asparagaceae, known as the asparagus family, is a family of flowering plants, placed in the order Asparagales of the monocots. The family name is based on the edible garden asparagus, ''Asparagus officinalis''. Those who live in the temperate c ...

species, for instance Turk's cap lily (''

Lilium martagon ''Lilium martagon'', the martagon lily or Turk's cap lily, is a Eurasian species of lily. It has a widespread native region extending from Portugal east through Europe and Asia as far east as Mongolia. Description It is stem-rooting, growing be ...

''), onion (''

Allium cepa An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion ...

''), garlic (''

Allium sativum Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeastern ...

''), ''

Asparagus Asparagus, or garden asparagus, folk name sparrow grass, scientific name ''Asparagus officinalis'', is a perennial flowering plant species in the genus ''Asparagus''. Its young shoots are used as a spring vegetable. It was once classified in ...

'', ''

Polygonum ''Polygonum'' is a genus of about 130 species of flowering plant in the buckwheat and knotweed family Polygonaceae. Common names include knotweed and knotgrass (though the common names may refer more broadly to plants from Polygonaceae). In the ...

'' and ''

Convallaria ''Convallaria'' is a genus of flowering plants. It is usually described as a monotypic genus with the single species ''Convallaria majalis'' (lily-of-the-valley), but now some botanists distinguish up to three species, also including ''Convallaria ...

'' species. They can cause damages in case of heavy occurrence.

Bibliography

* Georg Möller, Reiner Grube, Ekkehard Wachmann: Der Fauna Käferführer I - Käfer im und am Wald Fauna-Verlag, Nottuln 2006 * Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al.: Käfer Mittel- und Nordwesteuropas. Parey, Berlin 1985, * Luczak, I
Noxiousness of onion beetle (Lilioceris merdigera L.) to onion (Allium cepa L.) [1992]
Agricultural University, Krakow (Poland). Dept. of Plant Protection * T Hayea, M Kenis
Biology of Lilioceris spp. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and their parasitoids in Europe
Biological Control - volume 29, Issue 3, March 2004

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1319356 Criocerinae Beetles of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Beetles described in 1758