''Altica oleracea'', known by the common name deep green leaf beetle, is a species of leaf beetle belonging to the family
Chrysomelidae
The beetle family Chrysomelidae, commonly known as leaf beetles, includes over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making it one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families. Numerous s ...
, 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 Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
''oleracea'' means "related to vegetables/herbs" in Latin and is a form of ().
Subspecies
Subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
include:
[
* ''Altica oleracea subsp. breddini'' (Mohr, 1958)
* ''Altica oleracea subsp. oleracea'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
]
Distribution and habitat
This species is present in whole Palaearctic realm
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The ...
. except Northern Africa.[ 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.[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. In fact larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e and adult
An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...
s of ''Altica oleracea'' are phytophagous
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet (nutrition), diet. These more broadly also encompass an ...
, 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 (biology), 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 about 4,250 known species spread acros ...]
and Rosaceae
Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera.
The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...
species.
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