thousandsofcookies
Chrysolina haemoptera
The blue plantain leaf beetle Chrysolina haemoptera is a rather compact leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae, usually dull blue to dark blue-black in color with clearly punctured wing covers. The adults reach about 5.5 to 8.5 millimeters in length.
The beetle lives mainly in open and rather dry habitats such as poor grassland, sand dunes, ruderal ground and often also in coastal areas with sparse vegetation. Its food consists mostly of plantains in the genus Plantago, especially Plantago coronopus. Both the adults and the larvae feed on the leaves of these plants.
The species is widespread across much of Europe and belongs to the western Palaearctic fauna. The beetles are mostly nocturnal and can be found from spring into autumn. They produce one generation per year, pause briefly in midsummer and overwinter both as adults and as larvae. Egg laying begins in autumn. A female can lay up to around two hundred eggs at the base of the host plants. It is also interesting that the beetle itself becomes a habitat for other insects since it can be parasitized by a tachinid fly and its eggs can be attacked by a tiny parasitoid wasp.
Chrysolina haemoptera
The blue plantain leaf beetle Chrysolina haemoptera is a rather compact leaf beetle in the family Chrysomelidae, usually dull blue to dark blue-black in color with clearly punctured wing covers. The adults reach about 5.5 to 8.5 millimeters in length.
The beetle lives mainly in open and rather dry habitats such as poor grassland, sand dunes, ruderal ground and often also in coastal areas with sparse vegetation. Its food consists mostly of plantains in the genus Plantago, especially Plantago coronopus. Both the adults and the larvae feed on the leaves of these plants.
The species is widespread across much of Europe and belongs to the western Palaearctic fauna. The beetles are mostly nocturnal and can be found from spring into autumn. They produce one generation per year, pause briefly in midsummer and overwinter both as adults and as larvae. Egg laying begins in autumn. A female can lay up to around two hundred eggs at the base of the host plants. It is also interesting that the beetle itself becomes a habitat for other insects since it can be parasitized by a tachinid fly and its eggs can be attacked by a tiny parasitoid wasp.