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

Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)

Ampferblattkäfer Green Dock Beetle

Synonyms and other combinations:

Chrysomela viridula De Geer, 1775 | Gastroidea viridula (DeGeer, 1775) | Chrysomela raphani Herbst, 1783 |

  • Gastrophysa viridula  4709
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2011-07-02 10:06:51
    Image number: 4709

    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2011-07-02 10:06:51

  • Gastrophysa viridula  5449
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2012-07-01 10:36:53
    Image number: 5449

    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2012-07-01 10:36:53

  • Gastrophysa viridula, female  5354
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, female, conf. Klaas Reißmann
    DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald; 2012-06-12 13:28:36
    Image number: 5354
    female
    DE, Chemnitz, Harthwald
    2012-06-12 13:28:36
    conf. Klaas Reißmann
  • Gastrophysa viridula, mating  5447
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, mating
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2012-07-01 10:38:51
    Image number: 5447
    mating
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2012-07-01 10:38:51

  • Gastrophysa viridula, mating  5448
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, mating
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz; 2012-07-01 10:38:18
    Image number: 5448
    mating
    DE, Chemnitz, Hutholz
    2012-07-01 10:38:18

  • Gastrophysa viridula, eggs and young larvae  7075
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, eggs and young larvae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2015-07-09 17:50:48
    Image number: 7075
    eggs and young larvae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2015-07-09 17:50:48

  • Gastrophysa viridula, larva  6790
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, larva
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-20 10:55:12
    Image number: 6790
    larva
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-20 10:55:12

  • Gastrophysa viridula, larva  6791
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, larva
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-20 10:55:28
    Image number: 6791
    larva
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-20 10:55:28

  • Gastrophysa viridula, larvae  7459
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, larvae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2016-08-30 14:12:57
    Image number: 7459
    larvae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2016-08-30 14:12:57

  • Gastrophysa viridula, pupae  7083
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, pupae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2015-07-22 16:44:58
    Image number: 7083
    pupae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2015-07-22 16:44:58

  • Gastrophysa viridula, pupa  6792
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, pupa
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-24 10:36:17
    Image number: 6792
    pupa
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-24 10:36:17

  • Gastrophysa viridula, pupae  6793
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, pupae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-24 10:33:42
    Image number: 6793
    pupae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-24 10:33:42

  • Gastrophysa viridula, pupae  6794
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula, pupae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-28 15:18:04
    Image number: 6794
    pupae
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-28 15:18:04

  • Gastrophysa viridula  6795
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-28 15:13:11
    Image number: 6795

    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-28 15:13:11

  • Gastrophysa viridula  6796
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-28 15:20:35
    Image number: 6796

    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-28 15:20:35

  • Gastrophysa viridula  6797
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-28 15:17:29
    Image number: 6797

    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-28 15:17:29

  • Gastrophysa viridula  6798
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-29 09:21:39
    Image number: 6798

    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-29 09:21:39

  • Gastrophysa viridula  6799
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-29 09:22:45
    Image number: 6799

    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-29 09:22:45

  • Gastrophysa viridula  6800
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-29 09:22:18
    Image number: 6800

    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-29 09:22:18

  • Gastrophysa viridula  6801
    Gastrophysa viridula (De Geer, 1775)  Ampferblattkäfer  Green Dock Beetle 
    Gastrophysa viridula
    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark; 2014-08-28 15:15:12
    Image number: 6801

    DE, Chemnitz, Stadtpark
    2014-08-28 15:15:12


Further vernacular names:
Green Dock Leaf Beetle, Green Sorrel Beetle
Classification:
Gastrophysa viridula belongs to the subfamily Chrysomelinae, tribe Chrysomelini.
Distribution:
Europe
Habitat:
Nutrient-rich grasslands, watersides and tall forb communities.
Description:
Length 4 - 6 mm; winged species; body elongated, green, golden or bluish metallic, rarely purple or violet; elytra disordered dotted, without distinct lateral margin, at the end with indented seam strip; elytra at the base only slightly wider than the pronotum at the base; pronotum metallic or black with metallic shine; base of the pronotum finely edged.
Biology:
Gastrophysa viridula forms in Central Europe up to 3 generations per year. The beetles are bad flyers and fly only rarely, but can migrate over long distances. They live on plants of the knotweed family (Polygonaceae), especially on docks and sorrels (Rumex). The broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) is frequently colonized.
Adults of Gastrophysa viridula appear after hibernation from the end of March to mid-April and can be found on their forage plants until about September. The females lay light yellow eggs in groups of 20 - 45 on the undersides of the leaves of the host plants. A female can lay up to 1000 eggs. After 3 to 6 days the young larvae hatch. The larvae eat holes in the leaves of their host plants and can completely destroy them if they appear in large numbers. The pupation takes place in the soil near or below the host plant. After a pupal period of 6 to 9 days the beetles of the new generation hatch. The entire development cycle takes about a month.
For overwintering, the adult beetles bury themselves in the ground after a maturation feeding. It is also possible that preimaginal stages can overwinter.
Note:
In breeding experiments the larvae of Gastrophysa viridula have pupated without problems on kitchen paper. The pale yellow pupae in the first days began to discolour about one day before hatching. Shortly after hatching the legs, pronotum and antennae of the beetles were already relatively dark, the elytra yellowish and still uncoloured. A few hours later the elytra were brown and the pronotum black. On the following day the beetles had reached their final metallic green colour.

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