Aphthona flava

Description

Aphthona flava is a beetle of the genus Aphthona. It is native to Eurasia, and has been introduced into North America as a biocontrol agent for leafy spurge. Adults are brown and difficult to distinguish in the field from A. cyparissiae and A. nigriscutis. A. flava is still the dominant beetle at some Manitoba release sites, but it is relatively scarce in North Dakota and Minnesota. Besides Manitoba, it is widespread in Hungary and Italy. The larvae is active from July to early spring of next year. When they are young, they feed on the hairs of the roots. As soon as they grow up they become bigger and start eating bigger roots. The larvae size is tiny, and are of white colour and are worm-like. Starting from late spring to early summer the pupa stage begins in the soil. From June to through early fall, if the temperature is right, the adults will come out. They look like flea beetles, and behave like ones too. Their size is 3.4 mm for males, and 3.6 mm for females. Aphthona is a genus of beetle, in the leaf beetle family Chrysomelidae, native to Europe and Asia. More specifically, Aphthona are flea beetles, meaning they have enlarged hind legs for jumping away from potential danger. There are some 300 species known worldwide. This flea beetle genus is important because of the usefulness of some species in controlling leafy spurge, a major invasive weed in parts of western North America. Several Aphthona species have been taken from Europe and introduced into localized areas of the United States and Canada, and some success against the weed is being seen. The six species used for this purpose include A. abdominalis, A. cyparissiae, A. czwalinae, A. flava, A. nigriscutis, and A. lacertosa, though A. abdominalis apparently never established a viable population and was never introduced in Canada. Control is generally thought to be effective, but results vary from site to site, which has been attributed to soilborne pathogens, phenology of spring, soil texture, and leafy spurge density. Control is less effective in sandy soils. Control may not be reliably observed and measured for 10 years or more.