Chrysomelids (leaf and seed beetles)

In my 'spare' time I am the organiser of the British Leaf and Seed Beetle Recording Scheme. Following Duff's 2012 checklist, this covers the following families:

• Chrysomelidae; includes some subfamilies previously given family status such as Bruchinae 'the seed beetles' and Cassidinae 'the tortoise beetles'. Also includes Donaciinae, 'the reed beetles'. One recent addition to the British fauna not in Duff (2008) is Longitarsus symphyti (Harrison 2010), one of the many 'flea beetles'. 270+ spp.
• Megalopodidae; represented in Britain by a single genus, Zeugophora. 3 spp.
• Orsodacnidae; represented in Britain by a single genus, Orsodacne. 2 spp.

To submit records, or if you have queries, please contact me via dshubble at yahoo dot com (let me know first so we can agree a format - there is a standard Excel spreadsheet). A new 'UK Beetles' website is currently under construction with online recording planned for late 2012/early 2013. I have also published an identification guide to the British and Irish species, available here for a mere £8.50 + P&P (Hubble, 2012).

Chrysolina herbacea engaging in beetle-love on water mint...

References

Duff, A.G. (ed.) (2012). Checklist of Beetles of the British Isles (2nd ed.). Pemberley, Iver.
Harrison, T. (2010). Longitarsus symphyti Heikertinger, 1912 (Chrysomelidae) new to Britain. The Coleopterist 19(2): 41-43.
Hubble, D. (2012). Keys to the Adults of Seed and Leaf Beetles of Britain and Ireland. FSC, Telford.

Further reading (to intermediate)

Borowiec, L. (2010). European Chrysomelidae. Excellent website with images of many species, including dissections and different colour forms. [accessed 22/12/2010].

Cox, M.L. (2007). Atlas of the Seed and Leaf Beetles of Britain and Ireland. Pisces, Newbury.

Menzies, I.S. & Cox, M.L. (1996). Notes on the natural history, distribution and identification of British reed beetles. British Journal of Entomology and Natural History 9: 137-162.

Further reading (more advanced and/or obscure)

Aldridge, R.J.W. & Pope, R.D. (1986). The British species of Bruchidius Schilsky (Coleoptera: Bruchidae). Entomologist’s Gazette 37: 181-193.
Allen, A.A. (1976). Notes on some British Chrysomelidae (Col.) including amendments and additions to the list. Entomologist’s Record and Journal of Variation 88: 220-225.
Bordy, B. & Doguet, S. (1987). Contribution à la connaissance des Cassidinae de France. Étude de leur spermathèque (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). Nouvelle Revue d’Entomologie 4(2): 161-176.
Cox, M.L. (1981). Notes on the biology of Orsodacne Latreille with a subfamily key to the larvae of the British Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera). Entomologist’s Gazette 32: 123-135.

Cox, M.L. (1995). Identification of the Oulema ‘melanopus’ species group (Chrysomelidae). The Coleopterist 4(2): 33-36.
Cox, M.L. (1998). The genus Psylliodes Latreille (Chrysomelidae: Alticinae) in the UK. The Coleopterist 7(2): 33-65.
Cox, M.L. (2001). Notes on the natural history, distribution and identification of seed beetles (Bruchidae) of Britain and Ireland. The Coleopterist 9(3): 113-147.
Doguet, S. (1984). Contribution à l’étude des espèces d’Afrique du Nord du genre Phyllotreta (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae). Nouvelle Revue d’Entomologie 1(3): 243-265.
Freude, H., Harde, K.W. & Lohse, G.A. (eds.) (1966). Die Käfer Mitteleuropas Band 9, Cerambycidae – Chrysomelidae. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg. [In German]
Hincks, W.D. (1950). The British species of the genera Pyrrhalta Joannis and Galerucella Crotch (Col., Chrysomelidae). Journal of the Society for British Entomology 3: 150-156. 
Hubble, D. & Murray, D. (2011). First British record of Smaragdina salicina (Scopoli, 1763) (Chrysomelidae). The Coleopterist 20(1): 1-3. Kevan, D.K. (1962). The British species of the genus Haltica Geoffroy (Col., Chrysomelidae). Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 98: 189-196.
Kevan, D.K. (1967). The British species of the genus Longitarsus Latreille (Col., Chrysomelidae). Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 103: 83-110.
Konstantinov, A. (1996). Review of Palearctic Species of Crepidodera Chevrolat (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Alticinae). Spixiana 19: 21-37.
Konstantinov, A. (1998). Revision of the Palearctic Species of Aphthona Chevrolat and Cladistic Classification of the Aphthonini (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae). Associated Publishers, Gainesville.
Mann, D.J. & Barclay, M.V.L. (2009). The identification and distribution of Cryptocephalus biguttatus (Scopoli) and C. bipunctatus (Linnaeus) var. thomsoni Weise (Chrysomelidae) in Britain. The Coleopterist 18(3): 166-181.
Medvedev, L.N. (2009). Alticinae of Indochina. KMK, Moscow.
Medvedev, L.N. & Dubeshko, L.N. (1992). Identification Book of the Leaf-Beetles of Siberia. Irkutsk University Press, Irkutsk [in Russian].
Nelson, B., Walsh, J. & Foster, G. (2007). Finding jewels amongst the reeds: a review of the Irish Donaciine beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Bulletin of the Irish Biogeographical Society 31: 117-193.
Ogloblin, D.A. & Medvedev, L.N. (1971). Larvae of the Leaf-beetles (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) of the European Part of the USSR. Opredeliteli po Faune SSSR, Izdavaemye Zoologicheskim Muzeem Akademii Nauk, Leningrad 106: 1-124. [In Russian: I'm working (very slowly) on a translation].
Warchałowski, A. (2003). The Leaf-beetles (Chrysomelidae) of Europe and the Mediterranean Area. Natura Optima Dux Foundation, Warsaw. 
Zaitsev, Y.M. & Medvedev, L.N. (2009). Larvae of leaf-beetles of Russia. KMK, Moscow. [In Russian]