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

Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Helmkraut-Blattkäfer Skullcap Leaf Beetle

Synonyms and other combinations:

Chrysomela quadrimaculata Linnaeus, 1758 | Crioceris melanogaster Gmelin, 1790 | Crioceris bimaculata Panzer, 1795 |

  • Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata 3020
    Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata (Linnaeus, 1758)  Helmkraut-Blattkäfer  Skullcap Leaf Beetle 
    Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2008-06-21 12:13:20
    Image number: 3020

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2008-06-21 12:13:20
  • Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata 3021
    Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata (Linnaeus, 1758)  Helmkraut-Blattkäfer  Skullcap Leaf Beetle 
    Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2008-06-07 09:30:34
    Image number: 3021

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2008-06-07 09:30:34
  • Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata 3049
    Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata (Linnaeus, 1758)  Helmkraut-Blattkäfer  Skullcap Leaf Beetle 
    Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2009-06-07 11:05:03
    Image number: 3049

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2009-06-07 11:05:03

Classification:
Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata belongs to the subfamily Galerucinae, tribe Galerucini.
Distribution:
Europe (missing on the Iberian Peninsula).
Habitat:
Lakeshores, reed beds, damp sand areas and wet meadows.
Description:
Length 5 - 7 mm; wing covers glabrous, yellow with 2 or 4 black spots (the anterior ones may be missing); pronotum yellow; head almost as broad as the pronotum; frontal part of head yellow, rear part of forehead and vertex black; antennae and legs yellow.
Biology:
The Skullcap Leaf Beetle Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata forms one generation per year. The well flying adults are active in warm weather and can be found outdoors from June.
The species lives on skullcaps (Lamiaceae). Known host plants are common skullcap (Scutellaria galericulata), lesser skullcap (Scutellaria minor) and tall skullcap (Scutellaria altissima). Imagines were also found on gypsywort (Lycopus europaeus).
The eggs are laid by the females of Phyllobrotica quadrimaculata on the ground below the food plant. The larvae hatch after about 3 weeks, bore into the soil and feed on the roots of the host plants from the outside. The species hibernates as a larva. The larvae pupate in a burrow in late spring. The beetles hatch in June, when the food plants have developed.

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