(Lebia viridis)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
|
|||||||
IUCN Red List | not listed |
|||||||
NatureServe | NNR - Unranked |
|||||||
Minnesota | not listed |
|||||||
Description |
||
Flower lebia beetle is a common, small, colorful foliage ground beetle. It occurs throughout the United States, southern Canada, and Mexico. In Canada it has been collected as far north as Yukon Territory. The larvae are external parasites of the pupae of at least four species of metallic flea beetles (Altica spp.). Of these, only grape flea beetle (Altica chalybea) occurs in Minnesota. Adults are active from late spring through fall. They are found on the ground, on foliage, and on flowers. They feed on the eggs and larvae of the same species. Adults are 3⁄16″ to ¼″ (4.6 to 6.6 mm) in length. The body is oval, rather broad, and very shiny. It is entirely one color with no markings. Young (teneral) adults are metallic blue. They gradually change to metallic green as they mature. The head is constricted in the rear into a neck. It is sparsely dotted with minute pits (punctate), and there are fine grooves along the sides. The antennae are long and thread-like, and they have 11 segments. They are inserted between the eyes and the jaws (mandibles). They are entirely blackish, but the first three segments have a green metallic sheen. The mouth parts are directed forward. The thorax is 1.5 times wider than long, wider than the head but much narrower than the base of the hardened wing covers (elytra). The sides are flattened and extended outwards (margined). The margin is narrow except at the rear angle, where it is distinct. The surface has fine, transverse wrinkles. The elytra are broad and flattened. They are long but appear cut off at an angle. Unlike most ground beetles, the elytra do not completely cover the abdomen. The lateral margins have a distinct, narrow, flattened, sharp edge. Each elytron has several fine, longitudinal grooves. The grooves are shallow and smooth, not punctured. The space between the grooves is flat or slightly convex. The legs are long, slender, and entirely dark, sometimes with a metallic sheen. The fourth segment (tibia) of the front leg has a short spur at the tip. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments. The first three tarsal segments have an adhesive pad underneath. There is a pair of claws at the tip of each tarsus. The claws are comb-like (pectinate). |
||
Size |
||
Total length: 3⁄16″ to ¼″ (4.6 to 6.6 mm) |
||
Similar Species |
||
Habitat |
||
|
||
Biology |
||
Season |
||
One generation per year: |
||
Behavior |
||
Adults are active mostly during the day, but they will also come to lights at night. |
||
Life Cycle |
||
A single egg is covered with an adhesive secretion and is laid on the soil. The egg hatches in two or three weeks. The newly hatched larva immediately hunts for a pupa or pupating larva of a leaf beetle. Adults overwinter. |
||
Larva Food |
||
Pupae of grape flea beetle (Altica chalybea) |
||
Adult Food |
||
Eggs and larvae of grape flea beetle (Altica chalybea) |
||
Distribution |
||||
Sources |
||||
1/11/2024 | ||||
Occurrence |
||||
Common |
||||
Taxonomy |
|||
Order |
Coleoptera (beetles) | ||
Suborder |
Adephaga (ground and water beetles) | ||
Superfamily |
Caraboidea | ||
Family |
Carabidae (ground beetles) | ||
Subfamily |
Lebiinae | ||
Tribe |
Lebiini | ||
Subtribe | Lebiina | ||
Genus |
Lebia (colorful foliage ground beetles) | ||
Subgenus |
Lebia | ||
Synonyms |
|||
|
|||
Common Names |
|||
flower lebia beetle |
|||
Glossary
Elytra
The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.
Punctate
Dotted with pits (punctures), translucent sunken glands, or colored spots of pigment.
Tarsus
On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.
Tibia
The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot). The fifth segment of a spider leg or palp.
Visitor Photos |
|||||
Share your photo of this insect. |
|||||
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption. |
|||||
Babette Kis |
|||||
Lebia viridis metallic blue ground beetle Lebia viridis, metallic blue ground beetle, is about 5 mm long. I sometimes see them on leaves in early morning or late afternoon. Photo was taken at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., Wisconsin on August 15, 2022. |
![]() |
||||
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
|||||
|
|||||
Slideshows |
||
Visitor Videos |
|||
Share your video of this insect. |
|||
This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
|||
Other Videos |
|||
コルリアトキリゴミムシ/Lebia viridis 01_191112_自宅 jp yasou. |
|||
About
Nov 15, 2019 コルリアトキリゴミムシ/Lebia viridis 01_191112_自宅 自宅のキクの花についていた。初めはハムシの仲間かと推測したが、ハムシにしたら首や腹が平べったい。PCに動画を取り込んで拡大して見ると首の縁にオサムシに見られる平らな部分があるのでゴミムシの仲間かと検索の軌道修正。必ずしも正解ではないかもしれないがコルリアトキリゴミムシという名前に出会ったので今回それを採用。当たるも八卦。 yasou.jp,insect,甲虫目,オサムシ亜目,オサムシ科,コルリアトキリゴミムシ,Lebia viridis,自宅, Google Translate: Lebia viridis 01_191112_home It was attached to a chrysanthemum flower at home. At first I thought it was a potato beetle, but if it were a potato beetle, it would have a flat neck and stomach. When I downloaded the video to my PC and enlarged it, I noticed that there was a flat part on the edge of the neck that looked like a ground beetle, so I changed my search to see if it was a member of the ground beetle family. It may not necessarily be the correct answer, but I came across the name Corriatica rotid beetle, so I chose that name this time. It's also eight trigrams. |
|||
Created: 1/11/2024
Last Updated: