Chrysolina cerealis

Chrysolina cerealis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Chrysomelidae
Genus:	Chrysolina
Species:	C. cerealis
Binomial name
Chrysolina cerealis (Linnaeus, 1767)

Chrysolina cerealis, the rainbow leaf beetle or Snowdon beetle, is a brightly-coloured Eurasian leaf beetle. It is found in montane grassland from Norway to northern Italy, and from Ussuri in the east to Snowdonia (Wales) in the west ^[1]. It lives on base-rich screes and lays its eggs on grasses such as Agrostis capillaris and Festuca ovina, although it mostly feeds on the wild thyme Thymus polytrichus ^[2], preferring the flowers to the leaves. The beetle is 5½–10 mm long ^[3], with elytra striped red, gold, green and blue ^[2]. Females are typically larger than males ^[3].

In Wales

Within Wales, C. cerealis is found at only a few sites on the western flanks of Snowdon, and perhaps in Cwm Idwal in the neighbouring Glyderau ^[2]. The population is thought to be genetically distinct, and the species is classified as endangered in the UK and protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 ^[4]. The species has not been found since 1980 in Cwm Idwal, and some reports consider the Snowdon population of about 1000 adults to be in "serious decline" ^[2], while others say that there is no evidence of a decline, but that the species may always have been rare ^[3].

References

1. ^ Lech Borowiec. "Chrysolina cerealis (Linnaeus, 1767)". http://www.biol.uni.wroc.pl/cassidae/European%20Chrysomelidae/chrysolina%20cerealis.htm. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} Ben McCarthy & Kate Van Den Ende (2006). "Snowdon Beetle (Chrysolina cerealis)". Snowdonia National Park Authority. http://snowdonia-npa.gov.uk/page/index.php?nav1=lookingafter&nav2=8&nav3=5&nav4=3&lang=eng&id=16. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} "Chrysolina cerealis". ARKive. http://www.arkive.org/species/ARK/invertebrates_terrestrial_and_freshwater/Chrysolina_cerealis/more_info.html. 
4. ^ "Rainbow leaf beetle (Chrysolina cerealis)". UK Biodiversity Group Tranche 2 Action Plans - Volume IV: Invertebrates. 1999. http://www.ukbap.org.uk/UKPlans.aspx?ID=213.