Currently browsing tag

chrysomelid

Bloaters 2

[featured image] Although the alder leaf beetle (see last post) can swell to rather substantial proportions in an effort to produce lots of young it has quite a lot of work to do to contend with the dock leaf beetle (Gastrophysa viridula). Gravid females of this species are seriously swollen …

Bloaters 1

[featured image] Leaf beetles (chrysomelids), the often gaudy insects you see sitting on various plants in the summer have only a few short weeks in temperate climes to make use of the succulent foliage of their host plants. To fully exploit this flush of food the females can produce prodigious …