Luperus flavipes

Luperus flavipes is a species of skeletonizing leaf beetle belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Galerucinae.[1][2][3]

Luperus flavipes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Galerucinae
Tribe: Luperini
Genus: Luperus
Species:
L. flavipes
Binomial name
Luperus flavipes
Lucas, 1849
Synonyms
  • Chrysomela flavipes Linnaeus, 1767
  • Chrysomela ochropus Gmelin, 1790
  • Luperus carniolicus Kiesenwetter, 1861

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe and in the Near East.[4][5]

Description
Mating pair

Luperus flavipes can reach a length of 3.5–5 mm.[6] The head and the elytra are bright black, while the legs are bright yellow (hence the species name flavipes), with tibiae darkened towards the tip. The antennae are rather dark, long and wire-shaped, but the first segments are brighter yellow. The antennae are very long in males, shorter in the females. The pronotum is yellow orange. The body is quite tall and vaulted, the sides of the body are almost parallel but slightly wider at the back.[7]

Biology

Adult beetles feed on leaves of broadleaved trees. They are mainly associated with beech, birch, alder, hawthorn, oaks, elm and hazel.

Overwintering takes place in the larval stage, as development is completed in the spring. The sexually mature beetles (imago) can be found in the middle of summer.

References
  1. Biolib
  2. Encyclopedia of life
  3. Linnaeus, C. (1767) Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus differentiis, synonymis, locis. Editio duodecima, reformata. Holmiae, 1(2): 533-1327.
  4. Fauna europaea
  5. GBIF
  6. Website of the Watford Coleoptera Group
  7. Keys to the British Species of Subfamily Galerucinae, tribe Galerucini
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.