| Hispa atra (Linnaeus, 1767) |
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Scientific name: Hispa atra (Linnaeus, 1767) Common name: French name: Hispe noir Order: Coleoptera Family: Chrysomelidae Wingspan : 3-4 mm. Biotope: Meadows, fallow lands, on Poacea. Geographic area: Europe, northern Asia, missing in the British Isles. Observation period : March to October. |
Hispa atra is a small shiny black beetle with row of spines on the elytra. The elytra are also marked with rows of large darker black spots. Ten even longer spines are pointing on the margin of the pronotum. Thy are ramified at the base. The antennae of 11 articles bear a spine at the base of the 6 first ones. The spine at the base of the first article is much longer than the others. The Rockrose Prickly Leaf Beetle (Dicladispa testacea), which is found further south on Cistus, also shows a spiny body but can be recognized with its brown colour. |
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I have difficulties to identify Chrysomelidae species with smooth shiny elytra and I was not aware of this species with many spines. Identifying this species is not very difficult. I just need now to observe its southern brown cousin. |
André Bon January 2021