Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle vs East African Oil Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle East African Oil Beetle
Scientific Name Psylliodes chrysocephala Meloe angusticollis
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Chrysomelidae Meloidae
Size 3-4.5 mm 15-40 mm
Habitat Farmland Grasslands
Diet Leaf Miners Herbivores
Regions Europe East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle

A dark metallic flea beetle that is a major pest of oilseed rape across Europe. Larvae mine inside plant stems during winter. Has developed resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides in some areas.

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Did You Know?

Became an even more serious pest after the EU ban on neonicotinoid seed treatments in 2018.

East African Oil Beetle

A large, dark blue-black beetle with a soft, swollen abdomen and short wing covers. It oozes oily orange hemolymph containing cantharidin when disturbed.

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Did You Know?

Its larvae undergo hypermetamorphosis, changing body form dramatically through their development as they transition from active hunters to sedentary parasites.