Rapeseed Blossom

Rapeseed flower beetle , or rapeseed glitter ^[1] ( Meligethes aeneus ) is a species of glitter beetles from the subfamily Meligethinae , common in Europe, North Africa, Asia and North America.

Rapeseed Blossom
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryotes Kingdom: Animals Kingdom : Eumetazoi No rank : Bilateral symmetrical No rank : Primary No rank : Molting No rank : Panarthropoda Type of: Arthropods Subtype : Tracheo-breathing Overclass : Six-legged Grade: Insects Subclass : Winged insects Infraclass : Winged insects Treasure : Fully Transformed Insects Squadron : Coleopterida Squad: Winged Suborder : Beetles Infrastructure : Cookies Superfamily : Cucoid Family: Glittery Gender: Meligethes View: Rapeseed Blossom
International scientific name
Meligethes aeneus ( Fabricius , 1775)
Synonyms
Brassicogethes aeneus Meligethes bonvouloiri C. Brisout de Barneville, 1872 Meligethes brassicae Reitter, 1875 Nitidula coeruleus Marsham, 1802 Meligethes moerens LeConte, 1857 Meligethes mutatus Harold, 1868 Meligethes rotundangulus ganglbauer , 1899 Meligethes rufimanus LeConte, 1857

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Rapeseed flower beetle on a flower

Beetle black with bluish or greenish tint 1.5–2.7 millimeters long. Beetles overwinter under plant debris on the surface of the soil. In spring, they appear very early, at first they feed on the flowers of various early plants - coltsfoot, dandelion, etc., then go on to rapeseed flowers. Females lay 1-8 eggs inside the buds; average fecundity is 40-50 eggs. Embryonic development lasts 4-10 days, larvae 15-30, pupae 10-11 days. Beetles damage stamens, stigmas; larvae feed on pollen, but with a population of more than 3 individuals per bud, the latter dry out.