Alder Leaf Beetle

This was once a rare beetle, even thought to be extinct in Britain, but there have been increasing numbers of records.

Species introduction

At a glance
Latin name: 
Agelastica alni
Family: 
Flea or leaf beetles
Family Latin name: 
CHRYSOMELIDAE
Category: 
Insects other

Species description

Species description

This small beetle (about 7 millimetres in length) has a dark metallic blue tinge. It is found on Alder trees, but is also known to favour Beech, Hazel and Hornbeam. The larvae of this beetle is often seen in July and August, causing much leaf damage. This was once a rare beetle, even thought to be extinct in Britain, but there have been increasing numbers of records.

Species photographs

Larger photograph(s) (click to magnify)

Details

Species family information

Flea beetles, also known as Leaf beetles, cover between 40,000 and 50,000 different species of small beetles which are grouped into numerous sub-families. No single characteristic defines this family of insects. As with other beetles, the life-cycle includes larvae and adults, both of which feed on plant tissue. Many are pests of crops.

Category information

Insects evolved in the Ordovician from a crustacean ancestral lineage as terrestrial invertebrates with six legs (the Hexapoda). This was the time when terrestrial plants first appeared. In the Devonian some insects developed wings and flight, the first animals to do so. An early flying group was the Odonata from the Carboniferous, the damselflies and dragonflies, which have densely-veined wings and long, ten-segmented bodies. They are day-flying carnivores, with an aquatic larval stage, so are commonly seen flying near water. The carnivorous larvae are called nymphs. Odonata species are short-lived, damselflies surviving for 2-4 weeks, dragonflies for up to 2 months.

Some insect groups in the Cretaceous co-evolved with the flowering plants, and they have had a close association ever since. These groups are the Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, and ants), the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the Diptera (flies), and the Coleoptera (beetles). The diversity of beetles is astonishing. Of all the known animal species on the planet, one in five is a beetle!