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

Donacia marginata Hoppe, 1795

Gerandeter Igelkolben-Schilfkäfer

Synonyms and other combinations:

Donacia australis Jakobson, 1892 | Donacia lateralis Bonelli, 1812 | Donacia lemnae Fabricius, 1801 | Donacia limbata Panzer, 1796 | Donacia unicolor Westhoff, 1882 | Donacia vittata Panzer, 1796 |

  • Donacia marginata 3152
    Donacia marginata Hoppe, 1795  Gerandeter Igelkolben-Schilfkäfer   
    Donacia marginata, det. Mario Keitel
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2006-05-27 12:46:21
    Image number: 3152

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2006-05-27 12:46:21
    det. Mario Keitel

Classification:
Donacia marginata belongs to the subfamily Donaciinae, tribe Donaciini.
Distribution:
Europe, Asia Minor, Western Siberia, Central Asia, Iran, Morocco.
Habitat:
On the banks and in the shallows of ponds and oxbow lakes.
Description:
Length 8 - 11 mm; very variable species in terms of colouring, depressions od elytra or pronotum shape; elytra usually slightly shiny, with bronze, brass, coppery or grey-green ground colour; elytra often, but not always with a reddish or bluish longitudinal bandage at the lateral margin and a similarly coloured longitudinal patch next to the scutellum; posterior edge of the pygidium indentate in both sexes; underside yellow-grey, brass-coloured or occasionally golden-yellow hairy.
In comparison to the Donacia bicolora living on the same food plant, the dot stripes on the elytra of Donacia marginata are mostly more distinct and the depressions of the elytra are often less numerous and flattened in places. There are some similar species in the genera Donacia and Plateumaris.
Biology:
Imagines of Donacia marginata were found from March to September, mostly between early June and mid August.
The adult beetles often sit on bur-reed (Sparganium) above water and eat long trenches into the leaves of their forage plants. Occasionally they are also found on leaves of sedges (Carex, Cyperus), bulrush (Typha) or yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus).
The eggs are laid in late summer below the waterline in small groups of up to 25 pieces. The larvae of Donacia marginata develop on bur-reed (Sparganium), especially on the frequent branched bur-reed (Sparganium erectum). They live under water at the roots of the host plant and draw their respiratory air from the air duct system of the host plant via specially developed breathing tubes in the anus region.

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