Altica (
Neo-Latin from
Greekἁλτικός, haltikós, "jumper" or "jumping") is a large
genus of
flea beetles in the subfamily
Galerucinae, with about 300 species, distributed nearly worldwide.[2][3] The genus is best represented in the
Neotropical realm, well represented in the
Nearctic and
Palearctic, but occurs also in the
Afrotropic,
Indomalaya, and
Australasia. The species are similar to each other, small metallic blue-green-bronze beetles, often distinguished from each other only by the
aedeagus. The species of Altica, both as larvae and as adults, are
phytophagous, feeding on plant foliage of various food plant
taxa, specific for each Altica species.
Onagraceae and
Rosaceae (mainly Rubus) are the dominant host plant families for
Holarctic species. The adult Altica beetles are able to jump away when approached.
^Konstantinov A.S., Vandenberg N.J. 1996. Handbook of Palaearctic flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae). Contributions on Entomology, International, Vol. 1, Part 3. Gainesville, FL: Associated Publishers. P. 237–440.
^Ross H. Arnett et al. American Beetles, Vol. 2: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2002.
ISBN0-8493-0954-9. P. 662–663.
Král J. (1964–1979). Zur Kenntnis der palaearktischen Altica-Arten. Part 1–7. Entomologische Blätter 60: 126–133, 162–166; 62: 53–61, 159–168; 65: 72–85; 72: 61–63; 75: 98–108.
LeSage, L. 1995. Revision of the costate species of Altica Müller from North America north of Mexico. Canadian Entomologist 127, 295–411.
Altica (
Neo-Latin from
Greekἁλτικός, haltikós, "jumper" or "jumping") is a large
genus of
flea beetles in the subfamily
Galerucinae, with about 300 species, distributed nearly worldwide.[2][3] The genus is best represented in the
Neotropical realm, well represented in the
Nearctic and
Palearctic, but occurs also in the
Afrotropic,
Indomalaya, and
Australasia. The species are similar to each other, small metallic blue-green-bronze beetles, often distinguished from each other only by the
aedeagus. The species of Altica, both as larvae and as adults, are
phytophagous, feeding on plant foliage of various food plant
taxa, specific for each Altica species.
Onagraceae and
Rosaceae (mainly Rubus) are the dominant host plant families for
Holarctic species. The adult Altica beetles are able to jump away when approached.
^Konstantinov A.S., Vandenberg N.J. 1996. Handbook of Palaearctic flea beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Alticinae). Contributions on Entomology, International, Vol. 1, Part 3. Gainesville, FL: Associated Publishers. P. 237–440.
^Ross H. Arnett et al. American Beetles, Vol. 2: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2002.
ISBN0-8493-0954-9. P. 662–663.
Král J. (1964–1979). Zur Kenntnis der palaearktischen Altica-Arten. Part 1–7. Entomologische Blätter 60: 126–133, 162–166; 62: 53–61, 159–168; 65: 72–85; 72: 61–63; 75: 98–108.
LeSage, L. 1995. Revision of the costate species of Altica Müller from North America north of Mexico. Canadian Entomologist 127, 295–411.