Lebia cyanocephala (Linnaeus, 1758)
Taxonomy: Adephaga > Carabidae > Lebia > Lamprias > Lebia cyanocephala
Common name:
Blue Plunderer
Images
Source:
Lech Borowiec
Description
Size: 5-7.5mm
Basic colour: Head and elytra bright metallic blue, pronotum orange.
Leg colour: Black with paler middle of tibiae and and base of femora.
Confusion species: Lebia chlorocephala
Basic colour: Head and elytra bright metallic blue, pronotum orange.
Leg colour: Black with paler middle of tibiae and and base of femora.
Confusion species: Lebia chlorocephala
Biology
Status: Very scarce. Local in southern England. Only recent records from Surrey.
UKBAP Species: Yes
Habitat: Dry sandy grasslands and heaths.
Host plant: Hypericum perforatum. This species parasitises the beetle Chrysolina hypericae which feeds on Hypericum perforatum (St. John's Wort).
Other notes: Elytra with straight sides, diverging to near apices; intervals punctured more strongly than the fine striae; outer intervals pubescent, partly obscuring the marginal pores.
UKBAP Species: Yes
Habitat: Dry sandy grasslands and heaths.
Host plant: Hypericum perforatum. This species parasitises the beetle Chrysolina hypericae which feeds on Hypericum perforatum (St. John's Wort).
Other notes: Elytra with straight sides, diverging to near apices; intervals punctured more strongly than the fine striae; outer intervals pubescent, partly obscuring the marginal pores.
Articles
Denton, J. (2003). Belated records of Lebia cyanocephala (Linnaeus) (Carabidae) in Hertfordshire. The Coleopterist 12(2): 56.
Denton, J. (1998). Lebia cyanocephala (Linnaeus) (Carabidae) rediscovered, in Surrey. The Coleopterist 7(1): 17.