Altica brevicollis Foudras, 1860
Taxonomy: Polyphaga > Chrysomeloidea > Chrysomelidae > Altica > Altica brevicollis
Description
Size: 3.5-4.5mm
Basic colour: Shiny metallic greenish, sometimes blue, rarely brassy.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Other colour forms: Sometimes
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Altica lythri
Basic colour: Shiny metallic greenish, sometimes blue, rarely brassy.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Other colour forms: Sometimes
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Altica lythri
Biology
Status: Scarce (Notable A)
Habitat: Broadleaved woodland (often glades & clearings), heathland, road verges.
Host plant: Hazel
Overwintering: Unknown location, but known to overwinter.
Food: Hazel leaves; adults and larvae make small holes.
Other notes: Widespread but scarce in southern England, one old record from Wales, absent from Scotland and Ireland. In England, one generation per year. New adults emerge July & August. Gravid females known in April & May. Eggs laid on the underside of hazel leaves. Larvae found from late April to July, and so likely to occur earlier than other Altica species; pupation in an earthen cell. Feeds on other tree species in continental Europe.
Habitat: Broadleaved woodland (often glades & clearings), heathland, road verges.
Host plant: Hazel
Overwintering: Unknown location, but known to overwinter.
Food: Hazel leaves; adults and larvae make small holes.
Other notes: Widespread but scarce in southern England, one old record from Wales, absent from Scotland and Ireland. In England, one generation per year. New adults emerge July & August. Gravid females known in April & May. Eggs laid on the underside of hazel leaves. Larvae found from late April to July, and so likely to occur earlier than other Altica species; pupation in an earthen cell. Feeds on other tree species in continental Europe.
Articles
Lane, S. (2012). A history of Altica brevicollis Foudras (Chrysomelidae) in Warwickshire (VC 38) with notes on identification. The Coleopterist 21(3): 109.
Sage, B. (2011). The first modern record of Altica brevicollis Foudras (Chrysomelidae) for Norfolk. The Coleopterist 20(3): 147.