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Metallic Flea Beetle

Alticini

Photo by John B.
Published on Project Noah
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15.4551, 119.92

Field Notes

Description:

This beetle is very small. I did not manage to measure it and only got one photo, before it flew off. The pectinate antennae, I think, indicate that it is a male, but that does not help with identification. There are several pictures, on the internet, which look pretty much the same as this one, as far as the head, the thorax and the elytra are concerned. So, I thought that I would just have to find which one of them had distribution in the Philippines, but I soon realized that none of the candidates had the reddish brown legs. That "little detail" has me stumped, for now.

Habitat:

This Metallic Flea Beetle was spotted in the farm on a leaf of Tropical Whiteweed (Ageratum conyzoides Linn.) known in the Philippines by various names in many dialects. In our local dialect, this plant is called Salunay. Plant information - http://stuartxchange.com/Bulak.html....

Reference Links:

Altica - Wikipedia, Photos of Metallic Flea Beetles (Genus Altica) · iNaturalist

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (6)
janme
That’s such an interesting observation! Sometimes the smallest details, like the leg color, make identification tricky. I usually keep my own field photos and notes organized in cloud storage so I don’t lose them over time. Tools like https://teradownloaderz.com make it simple to back up and access files anywhere, which really helps when comparing images later for species ID.
Mark Ridgway
Sorry about my late response John. I just don't get any emails from PN any more. Hope it works in the new version as it was key for me.
John B.
Hi Mark, thank you very much for your comment. It is, indeed "interesting" to see a member of the tribe Alticini with feathered antennae, but (as I am sure you know) there are a few. Some of them can be viewed in https://uk.inaturalist.org/taxa/622582-Polyclada/browse_photos..... but your comment made me look at my spotting again and I am now a little comcerned that it might not be Alticini. I think I was influenced too much by the fact that this beetle is very small and very iridescent. The rear leg thighs don't look right. So, I will have to check some more and try to get it right. I don't want to change the ID just yet for fear of making it worse, but I will fix it as soon as I can. Thanks again for bringing it to my attention.
John B.
Hi Ingrid3, thank you for your comment.
Mark Ridgway
Interesting to see Alticini with feathered antennae.

Spotted for Missions

Diversity of arthropods
Mission
Beetles!
Mission
Philippine Wildlife
Mission
Philippine Biodiversity
Mission
Insects of the Philippines (other than butterflies)
Photographed
PublishedApril 12, 2024

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