Thistle Tortoise Beetle Cassida
rubiginosa (Müller, O.F., 1776)  |
| Cassida
rubiginosa (often known as the Green Tortoise
Beetle) is a common leaf beetle on Creeping Thistle and
Knapweed throughout Nottinghamshire and is certainly the
most likely of all the Cassida species to be found. The body of
the adult is totally covered by the extensive elytra and pronutum,
helping eliminate all shadows and aid camouflage on the leaf surface.
The flat, almost slug-like larva has rows of branched spines along it's
outer edge and has the habit of deficating onto it's back. Larva are easily found during
June and the adults appear from mid-July onwards and
over-winter. |
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Cassida rubiginosa pupa,
photographed at Sherwood Forest CP August 2011 |
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Cassida rubiginosa larva, photographed at Sherwood Forest CP August
2015 |
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