Flea Beetle - Derocrepis

Derocrepis sp. --det. E.G. Riley

his comment: "Much darker than the D. aesculi I am familiar with (from Missouri)."

Moved from ID Request.

… v belov, 28 March, 2012 - 5:57pm

from J.C. Ciegler: "Derocrepis aesculi (Dury) is recorded...

"...from Aesculus glabra. The beetle is known from Ohio; it's all blue. That could be your guy."
size 2.4-3 mm, per(1)
Nancy, could you please try harder to get a sharp photo of it? potentially interesting and important find...

… v belov, 28 March, 2012 - 12:47pm

Please take a look

at the new views I sent tonight. I'll try tomorrow for sharper images of the captured beetles I brought home in plastic containers this afternoon. If they don't escape!

… Nancy Kent, 28 March, 2012 - 8:50pm

thanks, Nancy.

the two added photos show less detail than this one, so please try tomorrow... give it another shot --well, the more shots, the better: different shots may reveal a number of important details.
specimens should be immobilized for better results

… v belov, 28 March, 2012 - 8:58pm

I've submitted two more images.

I still do not have sharp pics. My cam just doesn't have the capacity even with lots of shots:(
I have a friend at Radford University who may have a microscopic cam. I'll try to get a frozen carcase to him!
The new pics are photos #624731& 2, and I posted them in ID Request because that's easiest for me.

… Nancy Kent, 29 March, 2012 - 5:53pm

Yes,

I know that immobilization will be necessary. Any suggestions about how to accomplish that? Every time I opened the container to put more into it, some would escape.
Yes - I'll try for lots of shots tomorrow after school (1st grade).
FYI - I noticed several small ants on the leaves with them today. Also a few curled leaf edges with fine webs inside the roll. I had seen the curls yesterday.

… Nancy Kent, 28 March, 2012 - 9:07pm

how to immobilize

i'm not a photographer, i used to collect insects, and put them in a killing jar or in alcohol.
i know, though, that some people around here put them in a freezer -- should be a simple procedure; there must be a lot of good advice on the forum from experiences bugguiders, i just never read those threads...
and i would recommend an aspirator to collect small and restless critters: that was the main tool of my trade )))

… v belov, 28 March, 2012 - 9:20pm

Thanks,

=v=, I appreciate that info - I'm heading to the freezer!

… Nancy Kent, 28 March, 2012 - 9:24pm

Orthaltica? Crepidodera? i'm quite sure it's an alticine

… v belov, 28 March, 2012 - 8:36am

At 3-4mm?

An in-focus picture would be helpful.

… Michael C. Thomas, 28 March, 2012 - 11:37am

striae too regular and head too large for Rhabdopterus/Tymnes

antennae look too short, too.
also, the pronotal sides are wavy and denticulate, and the transverse basal groove is apparent -- the design typical for several alticine genera.
i suspect the indicated size to be an estimate rather than a result of actual measurement (size data only help if measured in mm, otherwise the field is better left blank: estimates are misleading in the majority of cases)
among our flea beetles, Derocrepis spp. are known to feed on Aesculus(1), and they look similar to me --compare

… v belov, 28 March, 2012 - 12:09pm

Leaf beetle

Family Chrysomelidae. Possibly the genus Tymnes or Rhabdopterus.

… Michael C. Thomas, 28 March, 2012 - 8:17am