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Further vernacular names:

Yellow-striped Flea Beetle

Classification:

Phyllotreta nemorum belongs to the subfamily Galerucinae, tribe Alticini.

Distribution:

Temperate Palaearctic (except North Africa), introduced into Australia.
Widely distributed in Germany.

habitat:

Ruderal areas, sunny grassland, sandy areas, acres.

Description:

The Turnip Flea Beetle is a small beetle with a body length of 2.5 - 3 mm and metallic shimmering head and pronotum. The elytra have a yellow, almost equally wide longitudinal band and a wide black seam, which is hardly constricted at the front. The tibiae and tarsi are light-coloured. In the male, antennal segments 4 and 5 are cylindrically thickened.

Similar species:

There are several similar species.

Biology:

After hibernation adults of Phyllotreta nemorum appear from March or April and start feeding on their host plants. Host plants of the oligophagous species are crucifers (Brassicaceae) and Cleomaceae occuring only as ornamental plants in Central Europe.
From the middle of May, about 5 - 10 days after mating, the females begin to lay eggs. One female lays about 150 eggs. The eggs are usually attached to the host plant in small groups. After hatching, the larvae mine in older leaves. They undergo 3 larval stages in about 15 - 30 days and also moult in the mine. The fully-grown larvae drop to the ground to pupate. The pupation takes place in an earth cave. From August, after a pupal period of 2 - 3 weeks, the adults of the new generation appear.
Phyllotreta nemorum forms one to two generations per year.

References, further reading, links:

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