Cassida viridis

Cassida viridis

Description

Length 7.5 to 10 mm. This is an all green Tortoise Beetle that lacks the markings of other Cassida species.

Similar Species

Cassida viridis is similar to C. rubiginosa but can be distinguished by the rounded rear corners of the pronotum (sharp in C. rubiginosa). It is also usually more apple green in colour.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Low vegetation, particularly White Dead-nettle and Mint.

When to see it

April to October.

Life History

The very spiny larva holds a bundle of cast skins and droppings over its back which it uses to fend off predators and parasites, the adults grip on to a leaf and pull themselves down, thus presenting no grip to predators.

UK Status

Fairly frequent and widespread in England and Wales, but fewer records from Scotland.

VC55 Status

Fairly frequent in Leicestershire and Rutland. There were a total of 32 VC55 records for this species up to March 2015.

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2025+ | 2020-2024 | pre-2020

UK Map

Additional images

All NatureSpot records