Rosemary Beetle

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Chrysolina americana

This attractive beetle is from a family called Chrysomelidae the leaf beetles. It is a fairly recent newomer to Britain, introduced in the 1990s and now established in most of England and Wales, and still expanding its range. It is considered a pest of Rosemary, Lavender, Sage, Thyme and similar plants, both the adult and the larva feeding on the foliage. It is the first time I have seen it here, and will have to see if it is a ‘pest’ as such. It is 6.7-8 mm long. The adults can be seen throughout the year, even during winter.

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It kind of doesn’t look real, but looks manufactured from copper or the like.

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Note the deeply ‘punched’ markings forming rows on the elytra and the sides of the protonum.

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