Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Coleoptera (Beetles) ➔ Family Chrysomelidae (Leaf beetles)
Cassida (Cassida) nebulosa Linnaeus, 1758
Nebelschildkäfer
Synonyms and other combinations:
Cassida affinis Fabricius, 1775 | Cassida tigrina De Geer, 1775 | Cassida nigra Herbst, 1799 |
Classification:
Cassida nebulosa belongs to the subfamily Cassidinae, tribe Cassidini.Distribution:
In the temperate Palearctic.Habitat:
Wasteland, farmland, gardens.Description:
Length 6 - 7 mm; body oval; underside predominantly black, abdomen with bright margin; pronotum and elytra brownish yellow to rusty red; elytra with regular point stripes, puncturing coarse, interstices narrower than dots; elytra: upper surface with numerous black spots, basal margin blackened and notched, margins bent and flattened, side margins thickened in the middle; underside of the pronotum without indicated antenna groove and without side bead; legs bright.Biology:
Cassida nebulosa is an oligophagous species that lives mainly on plants of the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae). At the end of April, after hibernation, the beetles often colonize the white goosefoot (Chenopodium album) and feed on the leaves. After mating, the females of Cassida nebulosa start laying eggs in May. A female lays up to 500 eggs. These are glued in groups of 6 - 12 on the surface of leaves. After hatching, the young larvae start eating and cause damage on the underside of leaves. Later they eat holes in the leaves and can almost skeletonize them. The adult, bright green larvae pupate on the host plant. The pupae are also bright green with beige spots. After a pupal period of about a week, the imagines of the new generation hatch. The newly hatched adults are initially green. They change colour within a few days and develop the spot pattern typical of the species. After a maturation feeding in autumn, they go though a winter diapause.In Germany, Cassida nebulosa probably forms only one generation. In Russia the species is bivoltin. There the beetles of the 2nd generation hibernate.
Natural enemies:
Some parasitic wasp species of the families Eulophidae, Chalcididae, Pteromalidae and Trichogrammidae.Cerceris albofasciata (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae: Philanthinae) - Cerceris albofasciata is a predator of tortoise beetles (Cassidinae). The captured beetles are paralyzed by the females and introduced into the nest as food for the larvae.
References, further reading, links:
- Rheinheimer, Joachim, & Hassler, Michael: Die Blattkäfer Baden-Württembergs, 2018, 928 pages, Kleinsteuber Books (Karlsruhe), ISBN 978-3-9818110-2-5
- Arved Lompe: Die Käfer Europas - Ein Bestimmungswerk im Internet
- Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring Countries. Economic plants and their Diseases, Pests and Weeds
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