Appearance
''Galeruca tanaceti'' can reach a length of 6–11 millimetres. These leaf beetles have a broadly ovate, convex and glabrous body. The head, pronotum and elytra are matt black and densely punctured. Lateral margins of the elytra are explanate. Also legs are entirely black, relatively long and slender.The females are longer than the males. At the time of oviposition the abdomen is greatly enlarged and filled with eggs so much that the elytra cover just one half of the length of the belly. The larvae are dark, covered with bristles on fleshy outgrowths.
Distribution
This species is present in the Palaearctic ecozone from Portugal to Japan. It is also present in the Near East and in North Africa. It has been introduced in Northern America.
Behavior
Adults can be found between June and August persisting until October. Eggs are laid during September or October. They are attached to a leaf, a stem or flowers of dry grasses and other herbaceous plants and are protected by the secretion of these beetle. The larvae emerge only after the winter, at the end of April and during May. Pupation occurs in the ground during late May or June.Beetles and larvae are polyphagous, feeding on ''Asteraceae'' , ''Brassicaceae'' and other plants .
These beetles have been reported as a pest on oregano in Crete.
Eggs have been observed being parasitized by ''Oomyzus galerucivorus'' .
Habitat
These beetles inhabit in dry and sunny areas, meadows and grassy places.References:
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