Labidostomis tridentata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Taxonomy: Polyphaga > Chrysomeloidea > Chrysomelidae > Labidostomis > Labidostomis tridentata
Description
Size: 6-9mm
Basic colour: Head, pronotum, legs and body dark metallic greenish or greenish-blue; elytra yellow-brown.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: See 'basic colour' above
Leg colour: As pronotum
Basic colour: Head, pronotum, legs and body dark metallic greenish or greenish-blue; elytra yellow-brown.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: See 'basic colour' above
Leg colour: As pronotum
Biology
Status: Endangered (RDB1), last recorded in southern England in the 1950s.
Habitat: Woodlands/forests (especially rough open ground within them).
Host plant: Various, mainly birches
Overwintering: Unknown
Food: Adults feed on birch leaves (especially 5-year old saplings); young larvae feed on algae on tree bark.
Other notes: Males have larger heads and longer front legs than females. A fairly large and distinctive species last recorded in Britain in the 1950s, this would be a great rediscovery (it is widespread elsewhere in Europe and across the Palaearctic). Possibly has some association with ants, although the larvae do not live in the nests.
Habitat: Woodlands/forests (especially rough open ground within them).
Host plant: Various, mainly birches
Overwintering: Unknown
Food: Adults feed on birch leaves (especially 5-year old saplings); young larvae feed on algae on tree bark.
Other notes: Males have larger heads and longer front legs than females. A fairly large and distinctive species last recorded in Britain in the 1950s, this would be a great rediscovery (it is widespread elsewhere in Europe and across the Palaearctic). Possibly has some association with ants, although the larvae do not live in the nests.