Chrysolina graminis
| Tansy beetle | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Superfamily: | Chrysomeloidea |
| Family: | Chrysomelidae |
| Genus: | Chrysolina |
| Subgenus: | Euchrysolina |
| Species: | C. graminis |
| Binomial name | |
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Chrysolina graminis (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
The tansy beetle (Chrysolina graminis) is a species of leaf beetle. It measures 7.7–10.5 mm in length and has a characteristic bright metallic green colouration. The common name derives from the tansy plant on which they often feed as both larvae and adults. In addition to the nominotypical subspecies, which repeats the specific name, C. graminis graminis, there are five further distinct subspecies of tansy beetle, which, collectively, have a Palearctic distribution, although in the majority of countries where it is found the species is declining. In the United Kingdom it is designated as 'Nationally Rare' and this localised population, centred on York, North Yorkshire, has been the subject of much recent research.
The tansy beetle was first described by Linnaeus in 1758 in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae as Chrysomela graminis and was later transferred to the genus Chrysolina. The genus Chrysolina currently contains 39 subgenera.C. graminis (with its several subspecies) is located in the subgenus Euchrysolina which contains only one other species – C. virgata; this subgenus was first established in 1950.
Its species name graminis is a form of the Latin noun gramen, "grass", meaning "of grass, grass-like". Chrysolina graminis sensu lato has at least three later binomial names which are considered to be synonyms: Chrysomela fulgida Fabricius, 1801, Chyrsolina nigrocuprea Mallet, 1924, and Chrysolina taupini Mallet, 1924.
There are six subspecies of tansy beetle. The nominate subspecies C. graminis graminis was established via the original description of the species in 1758. C. graminis santonici (named after the Italian name, Santonico, for its host plant Artemisa caerulescens) was described by N. B. Contarini in 1847. In 1860 Motschulsky described two subspecies – C. graminis artemisiae and C. graminis auraria. These were added to in the 20th century with C. graminis christianae (Mallet, 1933) and C. graminis mediterranea Bechyné, 1950.
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