crowded flea beetle
(Ophraella conferta)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
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Description |
Crowded flea beetle is a common skeletonizing leaf beetle. It occurs in the United States east of the Great Plains and in adjacent Canadian provinces. Adults and larvae are found in wet areas, including marshes. Like most skeletonizing leaf beetles (Subfamily Galerucinae), they are specialists, feeding on a closely related group of plants, in this case goldenrods (Solidago spp.). The body is oblong oval. The head, the plate covering the thorax (pronotum), and the hardened wing covers (elytra) are yellowish. The head is clearly visible when viewed from above. It is not narrowed into a neck at the rear. It has a dark spot on top in the middle. The compound eyes are dark. The pronotum is much wider than long and has distinct flattened margins on the sides. The base is slightly narrower than the base of the elytra. It has a dark longitudinal stripe in the middle and a dark spot on each side. The elytra are rounded in the shoulder (humeral) area, nearly parallel along the sides, and broadly rounded at the tip. They are widest near the rear. Each elytron has three distinct, dark, longitudinal stripes. The stripes are unbroken from the base to the tip. The surface is densely covered with shallow punctures and with minute stiff hairs. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments but the fourth segment is minute, making it appear that there are only four segments. |
Size |
Total length: ⅛″ to ¼″ (4.2 to 5.5 mm) |
Similar Species |
Habitat |
Wet. Marshes. |
Biology |
Season |
June to July |
Behavior |
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Life Cycle |
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Larva Food |
Goldenrod |
Adult Food |
Goldenrod |
Distribution |
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Sources |
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| 6/21/2024 | ||
Occurrence |
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Common |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Coleoptera (beetles) |
Suborder |
Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles) |
Infraorder |
Cucujiformia |
Superfamily |
Chrysomeloidea (leaf beetles and allies) |
Family |
Chrysomelidae (leaf beetles) |
Subfamily |
Galerucinae (skeletonizing leaf and flea beetles) |
| Tribe | Galerucini |
Genus |
Ophraella |
Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Galeruca conferta |
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Common Names |
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crowded flea beetle |
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Glossary
Elytra
The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.
Pronotum
The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.
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Babette Kis |
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Ophraella conferta Ophraella conferta, crowded flea beetle, photographed at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on May 17, 2024. |
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Alfredo Colon |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Visitor Sightings |
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Babette Kis |
Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI Ophraella conferta, crowded flea beetle, photographed at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI on May 17, 2024. |
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Alfredo Colon |
Location: Woodbury, Minnesota |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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Created: 6/24/2019 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |