Hypericum pot beetle

The Hypericum pot beetle is a tiny shiny leaf beetle. It is mostly black, with yellow spots and reddish brown legs. You can tell boys and girls apart by their heads: the males have yellow heads.

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Fun facts
The males have a yellow head, while the females have a black head with two yellow dots.
It is only 3 to 5 millimetres long, smaller than a grain of rice.
Its wing covers have neat rows of tiny dents and a yellow spot at the end.
You can look for it from May to August.
Nature fans all over Europe help scientists by reporting when they spot one.
Most asked questions about Hypericum pot beetle
?What does the Hypericum pot beetle eat?
It eats St John's wort, a meadow plant with yellow flowers.
?How big is the Hypericum pot beetle?
Only 3 to 5 millimetres long, smaller than a grain of rice.
?When can I see it?
From May to August, on St John's wort plants.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Cryptocephalus moraei
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Beetles
- Family
- Chrysomelidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Coleoptera > Chrysomelidae
- Lives on
- Europe
Where the facts come from
- Cryptocephalus moraei (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Paul Braun. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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