Dringo flea beetle (Altica cyanea)

Dringo flea beetle (Altica cyanea) is a species of animal in the Chrysomelidae, winged insects, less than 1.5 cm in size, shiny elytra and the majority are blue or at least sparkling blue, live in low bushes on forest floors and agricultural land.

A. cyanea has a cylindrical head and a chewing mouth. The pair of antennae are segmented and nearly equal in length to the body. The thorax has 6 legs and 2 pairs of wings. Soft folded wings and metallic blue elytra. The abdomen, which has 9-10 segments of chitin, is ring-like and is connected to soft tissues.



The larvae are black, have small bumps and have no thorns. Larvae and imago feed on the same leaves. The female produces 146 eggs and is yellowish in color. The life span from egg to death is 80-84 days.

The adult beetles chew the leaves causing large holes in the leaves, while the larvae cause soft, brown-colored mesh holes.

TAXON

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Superfamily: Chrysomeloidea
Family: Chrysomelidae
Subfamily: Galerucinae
Tribe: Alticini
Subtribe: Alticina
Genus: Altica Geoffroy (1762)
Species: Altica cyanea Weber (1801)

PUBLICATIONS

Kamarudi KA, Shah AA. The potential of Altica cyanea Weber (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) as a biological control agent for Melastoma malabatricum Linn. MARDI Res Bull 1978;6(1):15-24.

Ooi PAC. A Melastoma-feeding chrysomelid beetle, Altica cyanea. Malayan Nature Journal 1987;41(2-3):379-382.

Nayek TK, Banerjee TC. Life history and host specificity of Altica cyanea [Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae], a potential biological control agent for water primrose, Ludwigia adscendens. Entomophaga 1987;32(4):407-414.

Xiaoshui W. Altica cyanea (Col: Chrysomelidae) for the biological control of Ludwigia prostrata (Onagraceae) in China. Tropical Pest Management 1990;36(4):368-370.

Jhala RC, Patel ZP, Shah AH. Occurrence of Altica cyanea (Weber), a possible biocontrol agent for weeds in rice fields. Gujarat Agric Uni Res J 1987;13(1):64.

VERNACULAR NAME

Chinese (simplified): 蓝跳甲
Chinese (traditional): 藍跳甲
Guangdong: 藍跳甲
Hong Kong: 藍跳甲
Indonesia: Kumbang dringo
Japanese: カミナリハムシ
Java: Wangwung dringo
Macao: 藍跳甲
Taiwan: 藍跳甲

Aryo Bandoro
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