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

Chrysolina (Hypericia) hyperici (Forster, 1771)

Punktierter Johanniskraut-Blattkäfer St John's-wort Leaf Beetle

Synonyms and other combinations:

Chrysomela hyperici Forster, 1771 |

  • Chrysolina cf. hyperici 5032
    Chrysolina hyperici (Forster, 1771)  Punktierter Johanniskraut-Blattkäfer  St John's-wort Leaf Beetle 
    Chrysolina cf. hyperici, det. Klaas Reißmann
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2011-09-24 12:07:35
    Image number: 5032

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2011-09-24 12:07:35
    det. Klaas Reißmann
  • Chrysolina cf. hyperici 5033
    Chrysolina hyperici (Forster, 1771)  Punktierter Johanniskraut-Blattkäfer  St John's-wort Leaf Beetle 
    Chrysolina cf. hyperici, det. Klaas Reißmann
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2011-09-24 12:08:15
    Image number: 5033

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2011-09-24 12:08:15
    det. Klaas Reißmann
  • Chrysolina hyperici 4141
    Chrysolina hyperici (Forster, 1771)  Punktierter Johanniskraut-Blattkäfer  St John's-wort Leaf Beetle 
    Chrysolina hyperici, det. Jaap Winkelman
    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald; 2010-06-13 14:58:12
    Image number: 4141

    DE, Chemnitz, Zeisigwald
    2010-06-13 14:58:12
    det. Jaap Winkelman

Further vernacular names:
St John's Wort Beetle, St. Johnswort Beetle
Classification:
Chrysolina hyperici belongs to the subfamily Chrysomelinae, tribe Doryphorini.
Distribution:
Europe east to Central Asia, south to Turkey; introduced in North America and Australia for biological control of St. John's wort on pastures.
Habitat:
Sunny ruderal areas, industrial wastelands, along railway lines, pastures - places where St. John's wort grows.
Description:
Length 5.0 - 7.0 mm; variable in colour (greenish, brassy, coppery, bluish to black); pronotum and elytra may be of different colours; elytra with very fine basic puncture and with loosely and irregularly arranged rows of larger dots; number of dots in the two outer rows of dots usually not more than 21; upper side of pronotum unclearly dotted, appearing smooth; lateral bulge of pronotum clearly separated at base by a sharp, fine notch, usually dotted at base, length approx. 1/3 to 1/2 of pronotum; claw tarsomer of front tarsi without distinct terminal tooth.
Similar species:
A similar species living on St. John's wort is the Klamath Weed Beetle Chrysolina quadrigemina (Suffrian, 1851).
Biology:
The St. Johnswort Beetle Chrysolina hyperici lives mainly on common St. John's wort (Hypericum perforatum), significantly less on spotted St. John's wort (Hypericum maculatum), square stemmed St. John's wort (Hypericum tetrapterum) and hairy St. John's wort (Hypericum hirsutum).
The imagines are already active at mild temperatures in winter and lay orange-red eggs on the fresh shoots of their host plants. After hatching, the nocturnal larvae live ectophagously on leaves. The larval stage lasts about 40 days. The larvae pupate in the soil at the end of July. After a pupal period of 2 weeks, the new generation hatches. The adults aestivate during summer several weeks and appear again from August.
Natural enemies:
Some species of the tachinid fly genus Macquartia (Diptera: Tachinidae).
The ichneumonid wasp Mesochorus giberius (Thunberg, 1822) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae).

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