Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Coleoptera (Beetles) ➔ Family Chrysomelidae (Leaf beetles)

Cassida (Cassida) stigmatica Suffrian, 1844

Rainfarn-Schildkäfer

  • Cassida stigmatica  3122
    Cassida stigmatica Suffrian, 1844  Rainfarn-Schildkäfer   
    Cassida stigmatica
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2004-08-15 14:13:16
    Image number: 3122

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2004-08-15 14:13:16

  • Cassida cf. stigmatica, larva  5601
    Cassida stigmatica Suffrian, 1844  Rainfarn-Schildkäfer   
    Cassida cf. stigmatica, larva
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2012-08-12 14:55:38
    Image number: 5601
    larva
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2012-08-12 14:55:38

  • Cassida stigmatica  9583
    Cassida stigmatica Suffrian, 1844  Rainfarn-Schildkäfer   
    Cassida stigmatica, conf. Christoph Benisch
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2020-08-02 12:34:38
    Image number: 9583

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2020-08-02 12:34:38
    conf. Christoph Benisch

Classification:
Cassida stigmatica belongs to the subfamily Cassidinae, tribe Cassidini.
Distribution:
Europe (absent in the far north and on the British Isles), Tunisia, Turkey, east to Afghanistan.
Habitat:
Tall forb communities, ruderal areas, roadsides - places, where Tanacetum vulgare is growing.
Description:
Length 5.5 - 6 mm; underside black; pronotum narrower than the elytra, with rounded corners; elytra green (yellow when dead), often with 2 reddish spots on each side of the base, without black spots on the shoulder; base of the elytra rather deeply emarginated; lateral margin of the elytra bent and flattened, elytra with a flat longitudinal impression behind the middle between the 4th and 8th dot strip; elytra moderately coarsely dotted with ± irregular dot strips, at least in the 3rd and 4th interspace there are surplus dots; forehead broad, not more than 1/4 longer than broad, usually almost square; clypeus black; antennae and legs yellow.
The larvae are green with a broad yellow-green central stripe and short side spines.
Biology:
The monophagous Cassida stigmatica lives on tansy (Tanacetum vulgare). The adult beetles appear in late April to early May, when the host plants have developed their first rosettes. After mating, the females lay their eggs on the undersides of the leaves of the host plant. The larvae of the species carry no feces shield, but only the stripped skins of the previous larval stages. Pupation takes place on the host plant. The new generation appears from late June to July.

References, further reading, links:
  1. Rheinheimer, Joachim, & Hassler, Michael: Die Blattkäfer Baden-Württembergs, 2018, 928 pages, Kleinsteuber Books (Karlsruhe), ISBN 978-3-9818110-2-5
  2. Arved Lompe: Die Käfer Europas - Ein Bestimmungswerk im Internet