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Further vernacular names:

European Rusted Flea Beetle

Classification:

Neocrepidodera ferruginea belongs to the subfamily Galerucinae, tribe Alticini.

Distribution:

Azores, Europe, Asia Minor, east to Caucasus and Iran; North America (introduced).

Habitat:

Meadows, pastures, ruderal meadows, grain fields.

Description:

Length 2.4 - 4.0 mm; rusty brown beetle with slender antennae; wing covers with regular dot stripes; side edge of pronotum narrowly bent up and rounded at the front bristle pore; pronotum broad, transverse impression rather flat; longitudinal stripe rather short, not longer than the distance between posterior corner and stripe.
There are several similar species.

Biology:

The reddish brown Wheat Flea Beetle Neocrepidodera ferruginea is a common and widespread univoltine species in Germany.
The adult beetles are polyphagous. They are often found on thistles (Cirsium, Carduus) and have been observed on grasses and plants from further families (Asteraceae, Boraginaceae, Fabaceae...).
The beetles hatch at the earliest at the end of May, mostly in June, and can be found until September/October. They are nocturnal and mostly stay on the ground during the day. The eggs are laid at the root neck or on the ground near grasses (Poaceae or Gramineae), the host plants of the larvae. 15 - 20 days later the larvae hatch. The larvae drill into the stem base above the root neck. The entrance hole is kept open. The larvae mine in the stem base or in the root neck of the host grasses. If the plant dies, they move to a new host plant. The hibernation takes place as a mid-instar larva. From May onwards, the larvae leave their host plants and pupate in a burrow. After a pupal period of 2 - 3 weeks the new beetle generation hatches.

Note:

The species is known as a potential pest of winter wheat.

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
3. Laurent LeSage and Karine Savard: First Record of the European Rusted Flea Beetle, Neocrepidodera ferruginea (Scopoli, 1763), in North America (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini), Psyche, Volume 2012, Article ID 387564, 11 pages, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/387564