Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) ➔ Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods) ➔ Class Insecta (Insects) ➔ Order Coleoptera (Beetles) ➔ Family Chrysomelidae (Leaf beetles)
Gonioctena (Gonioctena) viminalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Korbweiden-Blattkäfer
Synonyms and other combinations:
Chrysomela viminalis Linnaeus, 1758 | Chrysomela fridrichsdalensis Müller, 1764 |
Classification:
Gonioctena viminalis belongs to the subfamily Chrysomelinae, tribe Gonioctenini.Distribution:
Moderate Paläarktis, from the Pyrenees and British islands east to East-Asia, in the south as far as into Turkey, is missing in Europe in Ireland, Scotland and at the Mediterranean; North America.Habitat:
In cool, humid, often montane locations (brook margins, forest edges, humid forests) on willows.Description:
Length 5.5 - 7 mm; variable species; wing covers glossy in both sexes, often black spotted, each with 9 regular dotted stripes arranged in rows; mostly all spaces between the dotted stripes numerously and distinctly dotted; scutellum mostly dark brown or black; pronotum slightly arched, usually coarsely dotted on the sides; Head usually black; antennal segment 3 not or hardly longer than 5, segment 10 not longer than broad; mandibles hollowed out at the sides for insertion of the palpi; last segment of the palpi mostly darkened; legs completely black; front tibiae at the tip with a usually well developed tooth.Biology:
The adults of Gonictena viminalis are good flyers. They usually appear in May after hibernation.The univoltine species lives on willows (Salicaceae), especially on broad-leaved species such as eared willow (Salix aurita), gray willow (Salix cinerea) and goat willow (Salix caprea), rarely on poplars (Populus, Salicaceae).
In warmer areas, the females lay eggs at the leaf-undersides. After a few days the larvae hatch. Further north or in cooler locations the females are vivipar, i.e. the larvae hatch already in the female abdomen. The larvae develop from May onwards and pass through 4 larval stages. They eat together and live in dense groups guarded by their mother on the leaves of their host plant. They can secrete toxins to defend themselves. After a short time the larvae are fully grown. They drop to the ground and pupate in a burrow. The entire development cycle takes about 1 month. The freshly hatched beetles of the new generation undergo a summer diapause in the foliage or soil layer, appear briefly and go on the search for winter shelder.
Note:
The pictures show the development from late-instar larva to imago. The pupa which is orange after moulting changes colour about one day before the beetle emerges. The beetle, which is predominantly light during hatching, needs about one day to take its final colour.References, further reading, links:
- Rheinheimer, Joachim, & Hassler, Michael: Die Blattkäfer Baden-Württembergs, 2018, 928 pages, Kleinsteuber Books (Karlsruhe), ISBN 978-3-9818110-2-5
- Arved Lompe: Die Käfer Europas - Ein Bestimmungswerk im Internet
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