Among the lady birds only very few eat leaves and other plant parts. Most common is the 24-spot Lady Bird below. Reaching about 3 mm only this is one of the smallest species. It is the standard red-with-black-spots type, but it is very variable. The spots are always in the same place, but they may be very tiny dots, but also big black blobs melting into what appears to be just one spot. It is the most common of the vegetarian lady birds. It used to be an abundant species in the times clover was planted. For both adults and larvae adore this plant. In those days it was considered to be a serious pest. As clover is not being cultivated a lot anymore the 24-spotted Lady Bird often is a very local species nowadays. You can't play with this species. It will run to your fingertops, but then it seldom flies away, for most specimens have no wings and are unable to fly. That is not the only reason this is a strange species. It is also less shiny than other lady birds, for it is completely covered with tiny hairs giving it a very dull appearance. Not uncommon all over Europe, including the British Isles, but often overlooked because of the size. Quite rare in the Netherlands though. The scientific name in full is Subcoccinella vigintiquattuorpunctata.
Quite common, but not often seen: the small 24-spotted Lady Beetle (Subcoccinella 24-punctata).
The beetle below is a very strange one. It looks like is is covered in fungi and it even has small brushes of hairs growing on top. It belongs to a small family of beetles called the fungus weevils. They are closely related to the ordinary weevils, only their snout is large and flat. Of course no fungi grow on this beetle, it only looks that way. Actually both the beetle and its larva can be found in and on rotting and mouldy wood. And if you do look like that yourself, your enemies have a hard time finding you!
In Western Europe alone there are some 700 species of real weevils or Snout Beetles. Many weevils are very small indeed and therefore hard to identify. But bigger species also do look like eachother very much. The borers are part of the weevil family too. They deposit their eggs in unripe seeds, such as nuts. The larva eats the fruit from the inside. When the fruit falls on the ground in autumn, the larva creeps out, digs a small hole in the ground and overwinters there. A well-known and much feared species is the Hazelnut Borer. Borers have very long snouts indeed, often bended. On oak we often encounter the Acorn Weevil (or Acorn Borer) below. In females the snout is about the length of the entire body. Males have a shorter snout. Like many weevils this is a very small species, reaching a length of 4 to 8 mm. This is a very common species in Europe, Northern Africa and Turkey. By the way: the common name Acorn Weevil is used for some other species as well, much the same way the words 'wasp' and 'gnat' are used for several, often very similar species.
One of the weevil species called Acorn Weevil: Curculio glandium.
The weevil below to the left has a slightly smaller snout than the Acorn Weevil above. Still the thing is quite impressive. It is jjust one of the many Blossom Weevils present in spring. It is called Furcipus rectirostris, but the name Anthonomus rectirostris is used frequently as well. Sometimes we come across a species of which no information can be obtained. The only fact we were able to retrieve about the one to the right is that the larvae live in Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and Wild Apple (Malus silvestris). So we do pass on this information. If someone has more facts about this species, we would like to hear from you.
To the left: this Furcipus rectirostris has a shorter snout than the Acorn Weevil. To the right: we know almost nothing about this Magdalis ruficornis.
Below another typical example of a borer. As far as we know it has no common name in English, so we just might call it the Yellow Iris Borer, for it lives on Yellow Iris mainly. This plant is also known as the Yellow Flag, the Water Flag or, especially in the USA, the Paleyellow Iris. However in our garden we have also seen it boring in other Iris species, especially our White Iris and the Siberian Blue Iris. The scientific name of the animal is also spelled Mononychus punctum-album.
We do not know the common English name of this animal, if it has one, but we call it the , even though it is called Mononychus punctumalbum officially.Yellow Flag Borer
Below to the left a wide spread species found in Europe and Northern America. It is the Clover Seed Weevil, for the larvae feed on clover seeds, especially those of White Clover. The adults can be found on other plants as well. It is only 2 to 3 mm long. The genus it belongs to (Tychius, also known as Miccotrogus) consists of numerous very similar species. The larvae all seem to live on clover species exclusively with some mining the leaves. Below to the right another very small species, belonging to the genus Apion. This genus is containing quite some species looking like this one: small, blackish, reasonably long-nosed and with bulging eyes. It used to be called Apion virens, but nowadays the correct name seems to be Ischnopterapion virens. It is found especially on Hare's Foot Clover also known as Rabbit's Foot Clover and Stone Clover. In Australia often referred to as Pussy Clover (Trifolium). Identifications made by Frank Koehler, Vitali Nagirnyi and Rob Westerduijn.
To the left: the Clover Seed Weevil (Tychius picirostris, also known as Miccotrogus picirostris) found on White Clover. To the right: a very small weevil found on Hare's Foot Clover called Ischnopterapion virens, also known as Apion virens.
In the genus Sitona there are quite a number of similar species. The species below could be the Cover Weevil (also called Clover Root Curculio, especially in the USA), but we are not sure about this. There are more hairy species in this genus and most are brown... The Clover Root Curculio is a very widespread species, to be encountered not only in Europe, but in Asia and Northern America as well. Known to be harmful in agriculture as it feeds not only on clover, but on alfalfa as well.
We think this could be the Clover Weevil , also known as Clover Root Curculio (Sitona hispidulus). This identification is tentative though.
Below a nephew of the Clover Weevil. Apparently a very old guy, for he's completely bald. We haven't been able to identify the little thing yet, so for the time being we can only show you the pictures without further commentary. We do hope someone will be able to tell us the species in due course. You will send us a mail if you do know, don't you?
Unidentified, bald nephew of the Clover Weevil, so a Sitona sp. Is it familiar to someone?
The greenish weevils belonging to the Phyllobius group all look quite similar. And most species are very variable as well, especially in the colouring, which may vary from light green to a greenish brown or even plain brown. You have to be an expert to tell species apart. Their snout is much shorter and not as thin as in the borers. The larvae of the various species live on the roots of plants, while the adults eat the leaves.
These pictures show you how variable the so-called 'green weevils' can be. In both pictures is Phyllobius maculicornis.
Green weevils actually are black, with a thin layer of green colouring. With many species the green may disappear, revealing the black beetle underneath. Below the most common in our garden. When fresh the green is intense and very beautiful, but the species very quickly becomes pale greyish green and even looses part of the colouring. For a long time we believed it to be the Green Birch Weevil, but luckily Schott Laurent corrected it us. It is a Polydrusus (=Polydrosus) species. The difference between the Phyllobius species and the Polydrusus group can be told from the upper part of the leg: it is smooth in Phyllobius, while Polydrusus has a small hook there.
This Polydrusus sericeus not only fades quickly, it also turns black easily.
Most Polydrusus species are green, but certainly not all. Below a brown one. The black dots neatly arranged within the bands running over the shields means this is Polydrusus cervinus. It is about the same size as the green species and lives on many trees and shrubs, even though it does prefer birches. Common all over Europe, Northern Asia and recently even found in Canada. The close ups below reveal a rather attractive beetle, despite the small size.
Another Polydrusus species and a rather brown one this time: Polydrusus cervinus.
The beetle below belongs to a genus of small weevils, wearing a short, stump snout. Most species are brownish. They are not very hard to identify as a group, for all have an egg-shaped body and a deeply cut out circle around the head, immediately behind their eyes. Identifying the various species however can be very hard indeed. Luckily the species below usually is easily identified: at the beginning of the shields the place where the shields are connected is black. The scientific species name means something like: "the black-lined". Like so many other weevils though, the brown powder, which gives them their colour, may disappear after a while, revealing the black ***** chitine underneath. Such worn out species often are very difficult to identify. This species is some 4 to 6 mm long and mainly nocturnal. During the day the rest motionless on a leaf or twig. In case of danger, they simply drop on the ground. This is because they are unable to fly, for their shields have partly merged for better protection. The adult beetle overwinters, normally in long grass or between leaves on the ground. Then, usually by the end of April, they'll be looking for their foodplants. They're not picky at all: whether a tree has needles or leaves, it doesn't matter. They do however prefer very young trees, aged 2 or 3. The beetles and later the larvae will eat buds and fresh leaves or pines and are dreaded in forestry, for they may destroy a lot of trees. However, much of the damage they do is said to have been done by bigger species, such as the Pine Weevil, because of the animal's inconspicuous life style.
A small, egg-shaped, brown weevil, loosing it's colour at times: the Nut Leaf Weevil(Strophosoma melanogrammum).
The species above belongs to a genus with lots of small similar weevils. The ones below look just like it, but the black line on the seam of the shields is lacking. We have no clue to the identity of the one below to the left, but both Vitali Nagirnyi and Rob Westerduijn assure us it is a Strophosoma species. And they have already done a wonderful job by finding out the correct genus. Luckily the picture is quite good. Below to the right a species showing traces of markings on its shields. It is Strophosoma capitatum. Often appears together with S. melanogrammum and has about the same kind of life cycle. In forestry it is considered to be a pest as well. Is also considered to be harmful in Hazels. The identification is not 100% though, the animal could also be a Strophosoma retusum.
To the right: in this Strophosoma sp. the black line is missing. We have no idea what species this may be. To the right another pest in forests: Strophosoma capitatum.
A much bigger species is the Pine Weevil. The name is used for various similar species that live on pines and that can do a lot of damage, especially among seedlings. The Pine Weevil is very common in Britain and on the continent.
This giant among the weevils is called the Pine Weevil (Hylobius abietis).
Some beetles are a pest in agriculture, e.g. the Colourado Beetle does a lot of damage in potato fields. Another example of a pest is the Common Asparagus Beetle. This beautiful little beetle lives on asparagus and both the larvae and adults nibble on the leaves. It belongs to a family of smaller beetles, known as leaf beetles. Many species can be a pest at times in agriculture, gardens or parks.
This is the harmful Asparagus Beetle (Crioceris asparagi), a beautiful leaf beetle.
The beautiful Scarlet Lily Beetle below to the left is also a serious pest in many gardens. Both the red beetle and its larvae love lilies and fritillaries. They can do so much damage to the plant, it'll actually die in the end. The best way to fight them is to catch each individual beetle and kill it. Unless you have a lot of lilies in your garden of course... This is a newcomer to Britain. First discovered in the 1940's the animal is now present in most parts of England and some parts of Ireland. Except for the Cardiff region it is still absent from Wales and Scotland. Common in our everyday garden is the Alder Leaf Beetle, below to the right. It is a very small, black leaf beetle with a blueish reflection. In larger numbers it can become a pest, though.
To the left: the extremely infamous Lily Beetle (Lilioceris lilii), also called Scarlet Lily Beetle. To the right: not harmful in gardens usually: The Alder Leaf Beetle (Agelastica alni).
The beautiful Cereal Leaf Beetle below is extremely notorious in agriculture. Especially the larvae are capable of destroying entire harvests. Originating from Europe this species can now be encountered all over the world. Only introduced in the USA in 1962, the animal conquered almost all states and is now considered one of the most devastating pests. There are a few similar species and even though we are quite convinced this is Oulema melanopus (also known as Lema melanopus in the past) a mix up with the very similar Oulema duftschmidi is imaginable.
The beautiful, but much feared Cereal Leaf Beetle (Oulema melanopus).
The most dreaded leaf beetle probably is the Colourado Potato Beetle below. It used to destroy potato crops completely. This is mainly due to the fact that it multiplies very quickly indeed: three weeks after being laid an egg goes through all stages of beetle life and is an adult itself, capable of laying eggs. And each female will lay some 500 eggs! Yet, this once was a scarce beetle. It used to live in a small portion of the State of Colourado. It used only a small amount of food plants (nightshades only) and was considered a rarity by coleoptorists. But then the potato arrived. This is a member of the nightshade family as well. The Colourado Potato Beetle quickly adapted himself to eating potatoes and soon it became so abundant that it destroyed potato crops all over the US. By the mid-1800's it was imported to Europe, where it soon became as destructive as it used to be in the USA. All kinds of pesticides were used to kill the animal, but usually in vain, for the animal quickly immunized itself to most insecticides. The best definition I ever read about this beetle is this one: the Colourado Potato Beetle is a beetle still mad at us for eating his potatoes. The animal does not really look like most other leaf beetles, but rather like a large Lady Beetle. It suddenly turned up in our garden in the summer of 2004.
Known by almost all, seen by a few: the Colourado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decimlineata).
The species below is very remarkable indeed. It is able to hide under its enlarged chitinepaltes completely. In English this group of Leaf Beetles is known as Shield Beetles or Tortoise Beetles. In Western Europe there are over 30 species, many of which really look like one another. This remarkable creature found in our garden turns out to be Cassida vittata.
This typical Shield Beetle (Cassida vittata) behaves just like a turtle.
Within the large family of Leaf Beetles the Shield Beetles are not the only remarkable species. Another strange group is called Flea Beetles. These are very small beetles (2 to 4 mm only) with powerful hind legs. These are used to jump. That's how these beetles got their name. Some do some damage to plants by eating small holes in the leaves. The number of flea beetles is rarely high enough to do serious damage, though. The pictures below are of a brown species and the antennae has 11 segments. This information, combined with the shape gave Mr. Frank Koehler of the famous german beetle site http://www.koleopterologie.de the opportunity to name its genus: Longitarsus. It is impossible to name the exact species from just these pictures.
Only 3 mm is this Flea Beetle, belonging to the genus Longitarsus.
Below another very small, blueish black leaf beetle. It does look like all the others, but this time we know its name: Haltica oleracea, also known as Altica oleracea. We know this not by looking at the creature, but by examining the plant it lives on. In our garden it lives only on our Evening Primrose. And this is the only species known to inhabit this plant. It appears in April, almost as soon as the plant starts growing and makes the leaves look miserable, with yellow spots and lot of small holes. Later in May the plant certainly grows more quickly than the attackers can eat and starts to look more representable, still covered in these very small insects. From then on a kind of balance is reached and the plant seems to be effected only slightly. This blue flee beetle is known from many plants, including some important ones in agriculture, such as strawberry and turnip.
This is another flea beetle, making our Evening Primrose look miserable: Haltica oleracea, also known as Altica oleracea.
The larvae of the small leaf beetles usually are inconspicuous, even though the pink larva of the Colourado Beetle is quite striking. The larva of Altica oleracea is easily overlooked though: small, brownish and slowly moving. It too eats from the leaves of various plants, including the Primroses in our garden. And, let's be honest, beautiful is not a word that jumps to mind looking at the little rascal.
How the ugly larva to the left may turn into the beautiful little beetle to the right is one of nature's great mysteries. We are looking at Altica oleracea again.
When beetles land flat on their back, it is very difficult for most of them to get back on their feet. May Bugs often die that way. Some beetles however do have a special hinch between belly and breast. It sends them quite high into the air, allowing them to turn around before getting back on earth. As they do this with a clicking sound, they are called Click Beetles. The larvae of the so-called Click Beetles are called wireworms. They can be harmful to grassroots and newly planted seedlings in places that used to be grassy. As they often appear in great numbers gardeners hate them alltogether. Even though most wireworms are vegetarians, the wireworm of the adult to the right do hunt for other insects as well. It is not certain the wireworm and the adult shown below belong to the same species. It is a common species all over Europe, even though it is not a typical garden species, for it lives in pine woods mainly. It is a rather small click beetle, measuring some 6 to 8 mm only.
To the left: the larvae of Click Beetles are called Wireworms. To the right: a click beetle from pine woods: Dalopius marginatus.
Most click beetles are rather dull, being brownish, greyish or blackish. The one to the left for instance is called the "mousegrey click beetle" in Dutch. Another frequent visitor of gardens is the black, slightly shiny Cidnopus aeruginosus. It can be distinguished from other black click beetles by the short hairs. In the right light they softly gleam yellowish, like gold. This click beetle has a groove in the thorax where the first elements of the antenna can be put for better protection.
To the left: a typical Click Beetle, Agrypnus murinus, common on the European continent. To the right: Cidnopus aeruginosus.
The adult click beetle, called Athous haemorrhoidalis, below to the left apparently has to do without an English common name. It is widespread, in continental Europe and on the British isles and its wireworm can be damaging in potatoes. However the larva eats rotting wood usually. Below to the right one of the many black species. Black click beetles are very hard to identify. The way the hair grows and the direction they grow in is often crucial. So taking their picture will usually not do the trick, unless you make a good close up, showing the hairs clearly. In this way the species here has been identified as being Melanotus rufipes.
To the left Athous haemorrhoidalis, a wide spread Click Beetle. To the right one of the many black species: Melanotus rufipes.
Luckily not all click beetles are dull looking animals. The ones below for instance are examples of the more exotic click beetles. The one below to the left has beautiful red shield. Unfortunately though, there are several similar species within the genus. It probably is Ampedus quercicola, for that is the commonest of these species. We could be wrong though. Reaching some 9 to 11 mm this is a typical woodland species. The larvae live in dead and decaying wood. It is common all over Europe, including both the UK and Ireland. Below to the right a similar species, except that the last one third of the shields is black. That's why we know this is Ampedus balteatus. It is about the same size as the species above (7 to 10 mm) and is active during the day. Regularly found on tree trunks and flowers. The larvae live in rotting wood for about three years. This too is a very common species all over Europe. We regret that the animal in the picture is rather dirty.
To the left: one of the very similar black and red Ampedus species, probably the very common Ampedus quercicola. To the right the also very common Ampedus balteatus.
There are many members in the Longhorn Beetle family: some 15,000 species all over the world. In Western Europa alone some 100 species have been spotted. Longhorn Beetles usually do have very long horns, even though there are exceptions, of course. Many are also nicely coloured and they all give a slender impression. A few Longhorn species are very dangerous. Their larvae eat dead wood and do live inside pieces of wood in buildings. And because you can't see them (they do make little holes like the woodworm does) and because they can live as larvae for some 5 to 7 years, it may be too late once you spot the adults. Most species however are not dangerous, but live in stems of plants or reet. The species to the left below for instance spends its larval stage in stems of thistles. Some flies pretend to be dangerous by imitating wasps or other dangerous insects. In this way they hope to be left alone by enemies. Some beetles try the same trick, like the Wasp Beetle below. It looks like a dangerous wasp. But when you look carefully you will notice there are no visible wings. This means this is a beetle and not a wasp. So, it can not even sting you, it just uses a wasp's colours to trick potential enemies.
A continental Longhorn-species (Agapanthia villosoviridescens) to the left and a Wasp Beetle(Clytus arietis) to the right.
In most beetle species the male and the female are almost identical. In a few cases however there are striking differences between the two, like in Corymbia rubra, a species common on flowers in gardens. The male is slender, brownish and has a black neck shield. It seldomly reaches a length of over 15 mm. The female is bigger and more plumb, reaching some 20 mm in length regularly. She is reddish, including het neck shield. Actually they do look like two separate species! The species is very rare in the UK, for the foodplants of its larvae are not indigenous in Britain. It is still often referred to by either of its former scientific names Leptura rubra or Stictoleptura rubra.
To the left the male and to the right the female of Leptura rubra.
The Longhorn below to the left is smaller, reaching a length of some 16 mm. The ***es are look a likes and the same size. It is yellow showing black markings. These markings are extremely variable. Animals that are almost entirely yellow are in existence, and animals almost completely black have also been reported. It is a very local species, even though it may be abundant. It is also seen on flowers in gardens regularly. It is even called the Flower Longhorn in Denmark! The larvae live in old tree stumps. For a long time it was known as Strangalia maculata, but was then placed in the Leptura genus. Stenurella melanura, to the right below, used to be in the genus Strangalia too. In this case male and female differ from one another. The male has yellowish brown shields, which are black at the sides and near the end. The shields of the female are reddish brown and have black edges as well, but they are smaller than the males's. Both ***es like to sit on flowers in the sunshine. The larvae live in rotting, often somewhat moist stems and thick branches, laying on the ground.
Leptura maculata, to the left, is a local species. If present though, it might be appearing abundantly. Stenurella melanura, to the right, is a much rarer species.
The beetle below is a Longhorn as well. We couldn't discover an English name, so it is possible this animal doesn't live on the British Isles and in Ireland. In our garden is is a common species. It is easily identified by the shape of the shields, the colour and especially the thickened thighs: black on the front and middle legs, red on the rear legs.
This is a small, but striking Longhorn beetle: Stenopterus rufus.
