Red little devils

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Fri May 25, 2007 9:02 am

Hi all! I went to chadwick lakes last week to investigate a bit how the vine trees are doing and i found these little bugs nibbling the newly emerged leaves.

These are alien species but i forgot what they are called exactly anybody can recognize them? They literally invade the tree like flies on a jar of fly-honey. I think the bugs were once mentioned on "biedja and sajd" magazine. I don't know which issue exactly.

Some photos:

Post by **MWP admin** » Sat May 26, 2007 3:46 pm

Pity they dont like Oxalis pes-caprae, Rumus ulmifolius or Galactites tomentosa. Well, I just wanted to tell you that those biedja&sajd might be found on the gov. website (MRAE scetion) and perhaps trace the issue.

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Sat May 26, 2007 4:29 pm

Call me mad but i think rumus ulmifolius (if grown in controlled conditions) can be a good thing. Last year i harvested about 4 kg of blackberries and made some wine with them and i tell you it's perfect, especially if you mix the black berries with grapes during the fermentation stage.

Oh yes that's my other little hobby wine-making!

And to tell you the truth I like blackberries! Imma it's horrible in certain places especially when you're hiking with shorts and wearing sandals or even a flip-flop!

Anywhoooo. thanks i didn't know about that!!

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:02 pm

Guys this bug according to the Maltese countryside is chrysolina grossa. But i checked the wildlife of the maltese islands and it looks a lot different. Also pictures found on the internet confirm so.

Could there be a mistake in the ID of the bug?

The real chrysolina grossa should look a bit like the following:
http://www.biol.uni.wroc.pl/cassidae/Eu ... grossa.jpg

The MWP admin found what i think is the real chrysolina grossa but of course i can't post the pic.

Post by **MWP admin** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 3:21 pm

Hi, yes Conch it is useful to post my pic for this interesting topic. Resize it to >950pix and post it - no problem

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 7:49 pm

Ok then thanks!
Here is my hypothetically true Chrysolina Grossa.

Post by **MWP admin** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:50 pm

I found some good photos of Chrysolina grossa, and it looks that the last photo corresponds to C.grossa.

Example:

After comparing this photo I think there is not much doubt reg. last photo! Regards first pic, it looks different, though insects are a bit variable.

Maybe Jonagius will visit this link soon or later.

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:19 am

Yep that's the link i posted. Btw the chrysolina grossa is also called the Red leaf beetle.

Post by **MWP admin** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:22 am

So what is the first (original) photo of ??

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 1:47 pm

OOh i've no idea. What do the other guys think? I did not find it any book except in the maltese country side one. Guys so what am i to do now? Should i contact the authors point it out so if there should be a new edition the mistake won't be repeated.

Yeah it sounds crazy but i think it's necessary.

Post by **MWP admin** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 2:00 pm

You will be simply ploughing in water Conch!. Don't bother much. In my humble opinion, if the authors are that interested in Maltese Nature they should be part of the forum (the first and probably only one in Malta) and so reading/participating in this post.

Nevertheless, do as you like, and you can simply email this forum link and draw the author's attention.

Post by **MWP admin** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 2:01 pm

You will be simply ploughing in water Conch!. Don't bother much. In my humble opinion, if the authors are that interested in Maltese Nature they should be part of the forum (the first and probably only one in Malta) and so reading/participating in this post.

Nevertheless, do as you wish, and you can simply email this forum link and draw the author's attention.

Post by **MWP admin** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:02 pm

Conch, I identified these beetles for you.

They are Leaf eating beetles especially of vines (and Pistaccia lentiscus) and the species in Malta are Labidostomis taxicornis.

In Maltese it is known as Zabella tad-Dwieli

You can join it with the others

Conchiolin · Post by **Conchiolin** » Sat Oct 13, 2007 7:56 am

Yay finally mystery solved.

Thanks very much!