Altica ampelophaga Guerin-Meneville, 1858 - new record of Flea Beetle for Malta (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae)

Abstract

The Chrysomelidae is a very large family of phytophagous beetles with some 40,000 described species. The majority of adults are leaf feeders, with some species specializing on a wide variety of seeds, and fewer species are associated with pollen. The feeding regime is diverse as they may feed externally on the leaf tissue or on the roots, within leaves, stems or roots often as miners, or within the seed itself. Very few species are myrmecophiles. Some species are considered as agricultural pests, causing direct damage to various parts of the plant; most noticeable is the reduction of leaf area or sometimes indirect damage via the transmission of plant viruses. However, several species have also been used successfully in biological control programmes for the control of invasive weeds.