Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil
Lat. “Polydrusus formosus“
species
of family
“True Weevils“
1 species
The species of beetle being described is the Polydrusus formosus. It is found in most of Europe and the Nearctic realm. The adults are around 5-6 millimeters long and have a brilliant metallic green color. They lay their eggs in the bark or leaves of host plants, and the larvae feed on plant roots. The adults eat young leaves and blossoms of various woodland trees and shrubs, as well as fruit trees, making them a pest. The species has been identified in Ireland and is listed in a checklist of beetles of the British Isles.
Distribution
This beetle is present in most of Europe and in the Nearctic realm.
Description
The adults grow up to 5–6 millimetres (0.20–0.24 in) long. The colour of this insect is brilliant metallic green, as the black body is coated in emerald round scales. If the scales wear off the body beneath appears dark. Antennae are pale with a dark club. These beetles show a short groove between the eyes and evident striae on the elytra.
Biology
Adults can mostly be encountered from April through August. These beetles lay their eggs in the bark or leaves of the host-plants. The soil-inhabiting larvae grow up to 7 millimetres (0.28 in) long feeding on juicy plant roots. In Autumn their development is complete. They overwinter and pupate in Spring. The adults are eaters of young leaves and open blossoms of a wide variety of woodland trees and shrubs (Corylus avellana, Quercus species, etc.), but also fruit trees (apple, pear, cherry, etc.) They are considered a pest of fruit trees, causing extensive damages to their buds, blossoms and shoots.
Bibliography
Helden, A. 2005, Polydrusus (Chrysophis) formosus (Mayer, 1779) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): a weevil new to Ireland, Irish Naturalists’ Journal, 28 A. G. Duff (2008). “Checklist of Beetles of the British Isles” (PDF). The Coleopterist. https://web.archive.org/web/20110705155707/http://www.coleopterist.org.uk/checklist2008%20A5.pdf. Retrieved August 13, 2010 David V. Alford – Pests of fruit crops – Academic Press
External links
Bug Guide
Ancestry Graph
Further Information
Copyright
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Polydrusus formosus the free encyclopedia Wikipedia which is released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License). On Wikipedia a list of authors is available.