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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Longhorn and Leaf Beetles (Chrysomeloidea) » Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae) » Skeletonizing Leaf Beetles and Flea Beetles (Galerucinae) » Flea Beetles (Alticini) » Phyllotreta » Zimmerman's Flea Beetle (Phyllotreta zimmermanni)
Photo#14828
Flea Beetle - Phyllotreta zimmermanni
Copyright © 2005 Richard Leung

Flea Beetle - Phyllotreta zimmermanni
Springfield, Fairfax County, Virginia, USA
April 10, 2005
Size: 2-3mm
I found this tiny beetle among some groceries. The first clue that it's a flea beetle is the fact that it jumps, which made photographing it a nightmare. Every time I got it in focus, it would hop away. A search online makes me think it is a Phyllotreta species, though confirmation would be appreciated.

These are some other sites I found:
http://www.ndsu.edu/ndsu/prairieinsects/Coleoptera/C-Pstriolata.htm
http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG295/html/striped_flea_beetle.htm
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Contributed by Richard Leung on 12 April, 2005 - 10:20pm
Last updated 18 June, 2007 - 2:00pm

Moved
Moved from Phyllotreta.
… john and jane balaban, 18 June, 2007 - 2:00pm login or register to post comments

Chrysomelidae: Phyllotreta zimmermanni
Color pattern fits P. zimmermanni very well, P. striolata would be the next best fit, but I would go with zimmermanni. Both are wide-spread eastern species, with both feeding primarily on crucifers (cabbage, mustards, radishes, etc.). Anyone who grows many vegetables will sooner or later encounter them.
… Donald S. Chandler, 11 May, 2006 - 12:02pm login or register to post comments

Striped Flea Beetle
Phillip's link and the last two of your links mention Phyllotreta striolata. What Cedar Creek calls P. vittata is apparently a synonym of P. striolata (see bottom of this page). The photo I have of this species is no larger than the small images in this picture - very tiny but easy to recognize due to the prominent stripes.
… Robin McLeod, 13 April, 2005 - 6:59pm login or register to post comments

 
Phyllotreta sp.
While similar, the stripes on my beetle look noticeably thinner than the stripes on P. striolata so it could be a different species. According to White (1), about half the species of genus Phyllotreta have yellowish elytral stripes, so I'll leave it at genus level for now.
… Richard Leung, 13 April, 2005 - 8:13pm login or register to post comments

 
Another resource
I'm not aware of an on-line list for Virginia, but the NC State Univ. collection website can be helpful to narrow things down. They list 4 spp. in their collection with representative specimans from NC - other spp. can of course occur, probably rarely though.
… Phillip Harpootlian, 14 April, 2005 - 9:21am login or register to post comments

Looks good
Compare to this.
… Phillip Harpootlian, 13 April, 2005 - 10:05am login or register to post comments

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