Psylliodes cucullata (Illiger, 1807)
Taxonomy: Polyphaga > Chrysomeloidea > Chrysomelidae > Psylliodes > Psylliodes cucullata
Description
Size: 2.1-2.4mm
Basic colour: Dark bronze
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour; conceals the head, distinguishing it from all other British Psylliodes except sometimes P. picina.
Leg colour: Orange, hind femora darkened
Basic colour: Dark bronze
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Pronotoum: As basic colour; conceals the head, distinguishing it from all other British Psylliodes except sometimes P. picina.
Leg colour: Orange, hind femora darkened
Palaearctic, possibly including North Africa and the Middle East; introduced into Canada.
Biology
Status: Uncertain; new to Britain in 1991 and known from a small number of locations in South Wales, but unlikely to be a recent introduction so may have been overlooked elsewhere.
Habitat: Woodland and arable fields.
Host plant: Possibly corn spurrey Spergula arvensis and/or various wild and cultivated grasses/cereals
Overwintering: As larvae in soil at around 20cm depth
Food: Adults on leaves and ears of grasses; larvae on rootlets. Could be a pest on some crops.
Habitat: Woodland and arable fields.
Host plant: Possibly corn spurrey Spergula arvensis and/or various wild and cultivated grasses/cereals
Overwintering: As larvae in soil at around 20cm depth
Food: Adults on leaves and ears of grasses; larvae on rootlets. Could be a pest on some crops.
Articles
Barclay, M.V.L. & Davies, J. (2002). A further Welsh locality for Psylliodes cucullata (Illiger) (Chrysomelidae: Alticinae). The Coleopterist 11(1): 19.