Forum Entomologi Italiani

Hi guys

This blue Chrysolina...been told it is cerealis. Need to confirm. The tip of aedeagus is not broken, if someone would ask. It is like that, double check it with other specimen. The size vary from 7-12mm.

Any idea ?

Thanks !

Nice rest of the weekend, gents !

I think the proposed id is correct. Ch. cerealis is the only species in the subgenus Chrysomorpha.
Color is similar to that of Italian populations (ssp. mixta), with stripes completely or almost completely missing.
However in Greece only the nominotypical ssp. is recorded.
I do not know which are the diagnostic characters between the two.

On Mt. Parnass I collected a long series of Chrysolina (Chrysomorpha) cerealis with the very same pattern, and which I have identified as belonging to ssp. megerlei (Fabricius, 1801).
Zdeno, it was on the occasion of our meeting on Mt. Parnass, on june 2011.

_________________
Maurizio Bollino

Thanks for your reply, gents !!! Appreciated

So, okay...I m taking it ! I was a bit confused with the size ( these are much bigger than cerealis from central Europe ) and then that missing tip of the aedeagus ( compared with Lech`s website ). Maybe because it is a s.str in there ?

Yes, Maurizio ! I remember them good old days ! These were in the very same place, where loads of ca**o were flying out of your mouth

Once again, thanks a lot !



Ciao