What is this bug?
Location: Sydney, Australia
June 22, 2011 12:11 am
Hi there,
I got this bug off a leaf in a garden in winter in Sydney Australia. I was wondering if you knew what it was?
Signature: MargotG
Small Blue Leaf Beetle
Dear MargotG,
This is a Leaf Beetle in the family Chrysomelidae, and it can be further classified as a Flea Beetle in the tribe Alticini. We believe we have correctly identified it as a Small Blue Leaf Beetle, Nisotra breweri, on the Insects of Brisbane Website. You did not indicate which plant you found the Small Blue Leaf Beetle upon, and the Insects of Brisbane website indicates it is found on Wild Tobacco. Interestingly, the hairy leaf that you photographed your individual upon looks very much like the leaves represented in the photos on the website we cited.
Thankyou so much for identifying the flea beetle! The leaf was from a chinese lantern bush! Interesting!!!
Many Thanks
Margot
Metallic blue and orange bug/beetle
Location: Central Texas
April 3, 2011 10:42 pm
I found him on the porch, he is pretty small. I have never seen one like it, we live in Central TX.
Signature: Patricia
Shining Flea Beetle
Hi Patricia,
This appears to be a Shining Flea Beetle, Asphaera lustrans, which we quickly identified on BugGuide. Many Flea Beetles from the tribe Alticini as well as other Leaf Beetles in the family Chrysomelidae are considered to be significant agricultural pests. The host plants of this Shining Flea Beetle are listed as Scullcap and Willow. BugGuide notes this interesting remark: “In Florida this is sometimes called the Gator beetle – due to the orange and blue-black colors approximating those of the UF Gators.”
1
¶ Posted 04 April 2011 § ‡ ° Green Metal Beetle
Location: Penang, Malaysia
March 27, 2011 11:24 pm
Hi Bugman!
I’ve developed an interesting hobby which is macrography but most of the time I’ve failed to identify the bugs within the photo because didn’t have much information on them. I’ve hope that I could learn more of this lovely insects and hopefully share my photos for all to enjoy 
Signature: mysticz
Frog Legged Leaf Beetle
Dear mysticz,
This is some species of Flea Beetle in the tribe Alticini. Flea Beetles are in the Leaf Beetle family Chrysomelidae and the feed upon the leaves of plants. Many Leaf Beetles are very host specific and many are considered agricultural pests. We are going to try to research the exact species of Flea Beetle in your photo. We did find a photo of your beetle on TrekNature, and it was photographed in Malaysia, but the species is not identified, and though it is identified as a Leaf Beetle, it is classified in a different subfamily. We believe our Tribe identification to be correct, though we might be wrong. TrekNature indicates: “in reality I think the local call it ‘Kumbang Hijau’ of equivalent to green beetle.” We also found a photo of a similar beetle identified as a Frog Legged Beetle, Sagra buqueti, on the pharmasiana website, but that posting is riddled with incorrect information, beginning with the classification in the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) rather than Coleoptera (beetles), however we are going to pursue that information to see if we can get verification from a credible website. God of Insects shows a Malaysian Frog Legged Beetle pair, Sagra buqueti, and the taxonomy is family Chrysomelidae. The contrary information is on ZipCode Zoo where Sagra buqueti is identified as a Sphinx Moth. The metallic coloration on the beetle images of Sagra buqueti differs from the green of your specimen, but they do look similar and we believe they may be closely related. Scrolling down the I Love Flower Beetles Blog will show a posting dated October 12, 2010 that profiles the Frog Beetles and a video is included. We believe we hit upon the correct ID, again on TrekNature, where a beetle identified as Sagra femorata looks identical to your beetle, down to the color. There is a photo of a dead specimen on the Southeast Asian Beetles page of Beetle Diversity. God of Insects calls Sagra femorata a Frog Legged Beetle and indicates it comes in variable color forms, including blue, green, red and magenta. We end our search satisfied that this is a Frog Legged Leaf Beetle, Sagra femorata by linking to one final image on TrekNature.
Frog Legged Leaf Beetle
Mr Bugman,
Thank you so much for the identification, love and will continue to support your site.
b.rgds
mysticz
¶ Posted 28 March 2011 § ‡ ° Jumping Beetle
Location: Hurricane, Utah
December 22, 2010 12:01 pm
I noticed this beetle on my kitchen table, and leaned closer to get a better look. It surprised me by hopping away, just like a flea-so I hunted it down hoping that wasn’t what it was. I found it, and it was not a flea, but a pretty coppery pink beetle. It is 2 mm long. I suspect it was brought in from the river near my house in Southern Utah. (I put it in a jar to get better looks in daylight but by morning it had died.)
Signature: Pam
Flea Beetle
Hi Pam,
This is a Flea Beetle, a member of a subfamily of Leaf Beetles, Chrysomelidae. The fact that you have both a dorsal and quasilateral view aids in that identification because of the enlarged rear femurs are plainly evident. We are currently in the kitchen trying to perfect a recipe for Farfala con Fungi Porcini after consulting with renowned chef and photographer Luca Loffredo, otherwise we would take the time to try to identify your Flea Beetle to the species level based on its physical appearance and range information available online on BugGuide. We did take the time to create a Flea Beetles subsubcategory because of your query.
P.S. We will post the recipe for Farfala con Fungi Porcini if it turns out well.
Flea Beetle
Update: We wonder if perhaps it might be a member of the genus Chaetocnema, based on images posted to BugGuide.
Recipe: Farfalla con Funghi Porcini
Update: Promised recipe for Farfalla con Funghi Porcini.
Thank you for your quick reply, I’d never heard of flea beetles and had fun looking through the other posts. I am experimenting with fudge recipes myself, the Farfala looks tasty, we might give it a try!
Thanks again, and have a good holiday!
Pam
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