St. John's wort leaf beetle
| St. John's wort leaf beetle | ||||||||||||
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Chrysolina varians |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chrysolina varians | ||||||||||||
| ( Schaller , 1783) |
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The St. John's wort leaf beetle ( Chrysolina varians ) is a beetle from the family of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae).
features
The St. John's wort leaf beetle reaches a length of 4.5 to 6.5 millimeters. It has a tightly dotted top. The beetles come in different shiny metallic colors: blue, green, bronze, purple and black.
bronze-colored variant
blue color variant
green color variant
Occurrence
The distribution area of the St. John's wort leaf beetle extends from Spain to western Siberia. The beetle is common in Europe, but has main distribution areas. It prefers locations with a humid summer climate. Two attempts to settle in British Columbia in western Canada in 1957 and 1958 failed, the species could not establish itself there.
Way of life
The beetles fly in the summer half of the year from May to September. They feed on mint and St. John's herbs ( Hypericum ). The larvae usually hatch in May.
Web links
- insect box: St. John's wort leaf beetle
- naturspaziergang.de: Chrysolina varians / St. John's wort leaf beetle
- coleoptera.org.uk: Chrysolina varians
- University of Wroclaw: photos