Poplar leaf beetle
| Poplar leaf beetle | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poplar leaf beetle ( Chrysomela populi ) that got lost on a Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ). However, the species never eats conifers, only willows and poplars. |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chrysomela populi | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
_larvae,_Arnhem,_the_Netherlands.jpg)
The poplar leaf beetle ( Chrysomela populi ) or willow leaf beetle is a beetle from the family of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae). It occurs in Eurasia on the edges of forests and roads, provided that its forage plants, poplars (aspens are particularly popular) and willows grow there.
features
Poplar leaf beetles are ten to twelve millimeters long. The pronotum is bronze green or black in color, while the elytra are orange to red. Dark spots can be seen at the tips. The body is oval shaped, compactly built and strongly arched upwards. Legs and antennae are black.
The larvae have a basic color that varies between white and gray-green and even light green. However, they have a black pronotum, black abdominal edges and are peppered with many black point-like protrusions, which makes them appear black at first glance. They also have dirty white meat cones arranged in a row, which they can move in and out.
Similar species
- Chrysomela saliceti Suffrian , 1851. The black end spots on the elytra are missing. There is a double row of dots on the edge of the wing cover.
- Chrysomela tremulae Fabricius , 1787. The pronotum is twice as wide as it is long.
Synonyms
- Melasoma populi ( Linnaeus , 1758)
Way of life
Predators and protective behavior
Their predators include many species of the caterpillar flies (Tachinidae) and the parasitic wasps (Ichneumonidae). But it has also been observed (DELLA BEFFA, 1949) that the carnivorous larvae of the hoverfly species Xanthandrus comptus eat the poplar leaf beetle. When in danger, poplar leaf beetles give off a secretion that smells strongly of phenol to drive away the enemy. They produce this secretion from salicylic acid from their food plants.
Reproduction
The fertilized female lays her eggs on the underside of the leaves of the host plants, which happens in the first generation in the spring immediately after the leaves have sprout. The larvae hatch after about 12 days, first eat their way along the underside of the leaf and then skeletonize the leaf.
After three weeks the larvae pupate. They spend 10 days as a pupa upside down on the leaves of their forage plants. After the young beetles have continued feeding according to the larval type, they take care of a second generation. The species forms two to three generations per year, so that the beetles are found from May to August. However, the second generation is not adult until September, so that a third generation can only grow up under favorable conditions. With mass reproduction, the animals can cause considerable damage to pastures. However, the damage remains low on poplars, especially aspen trees.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe. Parey, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1 .
- ↑ Adolf Brauns: Taschenbuch der Waldinsekten Volume 1. 3. Edition, edited. Gustav Fischer Verlag Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3-437-30228-0 .
literature
- Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe. Parey, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1 .
- Heiko Bellmann : Which insect is that? Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-440-09874-5 .
- Adolf Brauns: Pocket book of forest insects. Volume 1. 3rd edition, edited. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart 1976, ISBN 3-437-30228-0 .
Web links
- Chrysomela (Chrysomela) populi in Fauna Europaea
- The poplar leaf beetle at insektenbox.de
- Melasoma populi poplar or willow leaf beetle ( Memento from June 20, 2008 in the Internet Archive )