Lebia Greenhead vs Alder Leaf Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Lebia Greenhead Alder Leaf Beetle
Scientific Name Lebia viridis Agelastica alni
Order Coleoptera Coleoptera
Family Carabidae Chrysomelidae
Size 5-8 mm 6-7 mm
Habitat Heathland Ponds & Lakes
Diet Parasitoids Herbivores
Regions Eastern North America Europe, Western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Lebia Greenhead

A small, brightly colored ground beetle with a metallic green head and pronotum and reddish-brown elytra. Its larvae are parasitoids of leaf beetle pupae, an unusual life history for carabids.

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Did You Know?

Its larvae are ectoparasitoids that attach to and consume leaf beetle pupae, a lifestyle extremely rare among ground beetles and more typical of parasitic wasps.

Alder Leaf Beetle

A metallic dark violet-blue beetle that feeds on alder trees. Heavy infestations can completely defoliate alder trees along waterways.

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Did You Know?

After being absent from Britain for decades, it dramatically recolonised southern England in the early 2000s.