Tansy beetle
| 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 | |
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The tansy beetle (Chrysolina graminis) is a species of leaf beetle in the genus Chrysolina. 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 species there are five distinct subspecies of tansy beetle which, collectively, have a Paleartic distribution.
The species is rare in the United Kingdom, being restricted to a 45 km stretch of the banks of the River Ouse centred on York, North Yorkshire, where a conservation programme is proving successful in halting the decline in numbers caused by habitat loss. Due to its decline, this localised population 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 is the Latin noun graminis meaning "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 was described by 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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