Phyllobius arborator

Phyllobius arborator

Phyllobius arborator is a beetle of the weevil family and the subfamily Entiminae The genus Phyllobius is an unusually species-rich genus, which is represented in Europe with twelve subgenera. Phyllobius arboretor belongs to the subgenus Phyllobius s.str. , Which is represented in Europe by 27 species.

The name of the genus and subgenus Phyllobius is from Ancient Greek φύλλον, phyllon ' leaf' and βίος, bios, ' Location ' derived. The species name arborator (Latin ) means tree gardener '. The beetle lives on the leaves of trees.

Characteristics of the beetle

The six to eight millimeters long beetle is on the upper side and with scales on the legs green to golden green. In old specimens the scales on, however, is partially rubbed off.

The head is extended forward by a short, thick trunk, which is the upper side flattened. It is already smaller than the head to the base. The trunk width between the Einlenkungsstellen the sensor is only slightly narrower than the forehead between the eyes. The wide sensor pits can be fully viewed from above. The antennae are slender, but not remarkably long. The first antennal segment is about as long as two thirds of the sensor scourge and against those clearly bent ( gekniete sensor). The second whip element is longer than the first, the middle whip members substantially longer than wide. The mouthparts are on the snout tip. The upper lip is missing, the upper and lower jaws are exposed. The lateral eyes are bulging hemispherical.

The pronotum is only slightly wider than long and up and arched pages spherical. At the base and at the front edge he is severely constricted. He is much narrower than the elytra and moderately coarsely dotted ( Fig. 4).

The elytra are largely parallel. The shoulders are clearly above. The elytra are mostly occupied with scales. On the intervening bald spots spring long, nearly upright dark hair. This, together with the spherical pronotum the best identifying feature for the species ( Fig. 4).

The long legs are yellowish or angedunkelt. They end in four-membered tarsi. All legs are perforated. In the male, the front legs are thickened and lengthened somewhat. The jaws are fused together at the base.

Biology

The species is polyphagous on various deciduous trees, occasionally on conifers. The eurytopic species prefers moderately dry cool spots in woods and forest edges. In Central Europe it comes montane and subalpine on hardwoods frequently. You lack here in the lowlands. She climbs on to the dwarf shrub stage.

In one experiment it was shown that the beetles attack stressed by increased nitrogen fertilization birch strengthened. In mass occurs, the animals can be harmful. In Eastern Bavaria damage to sycamore are reported. In the Czech Republic damage to beech and ash were determined. The beetles appear there from mid-June to September. The strongest flight activity is observed in late June, early July. The female lead after their appearance through a maturation feeding of about a week and then begin to lay eggs. Eggs are laid in groups of about thirty eggs in one layer on the leaves of host plants. After the regeneration feeding more servings of eggs are deposited. In total, around a hundred eggs are deposited. The females die after about four weeks, males after about three weeks. The larvae fall after hatching from the eggs on the floor. Their development takes place in the roots of various trees.

Dissemination

The species is distributed from Eastern Europe Central Europe to France. The distribution area reaches the countries Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, the Baltic States, Belarus, North-West Russia, Finland and the European part of Russia. From the Netherlands there is a new find.