Two from the Netherlands: Firebug Aggregation and mating Colorado Potato Beetles

danielj

August 16th, 2006 at 12:00 am

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Are you identifying European insects?
I am glad I came across your excellent web site with wonderful images of insects. I was in the Netherlands and tried to identify the insects in the attached images but I wasn’t very successful in finding photos that match the species I photographed. The two specimens surrounded by leaves were in a field of beans. The common red and black insects were up and down the length of a trunk of a tree by the side of a road which ran along a river. It looks like I will be buying an insect identification book in the not-too-distant future. Thank you for any help you can provide. Best Wishes, Yours sincerely,
Richard


Firebug Aggregation	Mating Colorado Potato Beetles (range expansion???)

Hi Richard,
The aggregation of red bugs are Firebugs, Pyrrhocoris apterus, a common species in continental Europe. We recently received a great poster from a French pharmacy calling them Gendarme. The mating Leaf Beetles look suspiciously like the US native Colorado Potato Beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata. This beetle once had a limited range in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, but with the spread of potato cultivation, it became a nationwide pest. Perhaps it has invaded Europe as well. BugGuide substantiates that this agricultural pest has gained a foothold in Europe.