Chrysolina cerealis
| Chrysolina cerealis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Chrysomelidae |
| Genus: | Chrysolina |
| Species: | C. cerealis |
| Binomial name | |
| Chrysolina cerealis (Linnaeus, 1767) | |
Chrysolina cerealis, the rainbow leaf beetle or Snowdon beetle, is a brightly coloured Eurasian leaf beetle. It is found in montane grassland from Norway to northern Italy, and from Ussuri in the east to Snowdonia (Wales) in the west.[1] It lives on base-rich screes and lays its eggs on grasses such as Agrostis capillaris and Festuca ovina, although it mostly feeds on the wild thyme Thymus polytrichus,[2] preferring the flowers to the leaves. The beetle is 5.5–10 millimetres (0.22–0.39 in) long.[3] with elytra striped red, gold, green and blue.[2] Females are typically larger than males.[3]
In Wales
Within Wales, C. cerealis is found at only a few sites on the western flanks of Snowdon, and perhaps in Cwm Idwal in the neighbouring Glyderau.[2] The population is thought to be genetically distinct, and the species is classified as endangered in the UK and protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.[4] The species has not been found since 1980 in Cwm Idwal, and some reports consider the Snowdon population of about 1000 adults to be in "serious decline",[2] while others say that there is no evidence of a decline, but that the species may always have been rare.[3]
References
- ↑ Lech Borowiec. "Chrysolina cerealis (Linnaeus, 1767)".
- 1 2 3 4 Ben McCarthy & Kate Van Den Ende (2006). "Snowdon Beetle (Chrysolina cerealis)". Snowdonia National Park Authority.
- 1 2 3 "Chrysolina cerealis". ARKive.
- ↑ "Rainbow leaf beetle (Chrysolina cerealis)". UK Biodiversity Group Tranche 2 Action Plans – Volume IV: Invertebrates. 1999.