Altica is a large genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of flea beetle

Flea beetle

Flea beetles is a general name applied to the small, jumping beetles of the leaf beetle family . They make up the tribe Alticini, which is a part of the subfamily Galerucinae, though they were historically classified as a subfamily in their own right...

s in the subfamily Galerucinae

Galerucinae

The Galerucinae are a large subfamily of the leaf beetles , containing about 5800 species. It includes the flea beetles in tribe Alticini....

, with about 300 species, distributed nearly worldwide. The genus is best represented in the Neotropic

Neotropic

In biogeography, the Neotropic or Neotropical zone is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones. This ecozone includes South and Central America, the Mexican lowlands, the Caribbean islands, and southern Florida, because these regions share a large number of plant and animal groups.It is sometimes used...

 region, well represented in the Nearctic

Nearctic

The Nearctic is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones dividing the Earth's land surface.The Nearctic ecozone covers most of North America, including Greenland and the highlands of Mexico...

 and Palearctic

Palearctic

The Palearctic or Palaearctic is one of the eight ecozones dividing the Earth's surface.Physically, the Palearctic is the largest ecozone...

, but occurs also in the Afrotropic

Afrotropic

The Afrotropic is one of the Earth's eight ecozones. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the southern and eastern fringes of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly...

, Indomalaya

Indomalaya

The Indomalaya ecozone is one of the eight ecozones that cover the planet's land surface. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia....

 and Australasia

Australasia ecozone

The Australasian zone is an ecological region that is coincident, but not synonymous , with the geographic region of Australasia...

. The species are similar to each other, small metallic blue-green-bronze beetles, often distinguished from each other only by the aedeagus

Aedeagus

An aedeagus is a reproductive organ of male insects through which they secrete sperm from the testes during copulation with a female insect...

. The species of Altica, both as larvae and as adults, are phytophagous, feeding on plant foliage of various food plant taxa, specific for each Altica species. Onagraceae

Onagraceae

Onagraceae, also known as the Willowherb family or Evening Primrose family, are a family of flowering plants. The family includes about 640-650 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees in 20-24 genera...

 and Rosaceae

Rosaceae

Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...

 (mainly Rubus

Rubus

Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...

) are the dominant host plant families for Holarctic

Holarctic

The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...

 species. The adult Altica beetles are able to jump away when approached.

(Partial) list of species

• Altica fragariae
• Altica nipponica
• Altica oleracea
  Altica oleracea
  Altica oleracea is a species of leaf beetles belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Galerucinae.It is found in most Europe....
  
  
• Altica quercetorum
• Altica viridicyanea

Further reading

• Král J. (1964-1979). Zur Kenntnis der palaearktischen Altica-Arten. Part 1-7. Entomologische Blätter 60: 126-133, 162-166; 62: 53-61, 159-168; 65: 72-85; 72: 61-63; 75: 98-108.
• LeSage, L. 1995. Revision of the costate species of Altica Müller from North America north of Mexico. Canadian Entomologist
  Canadian Entomologist
  The Canadian Entomologist is a scientific journal of the Entomological Society of Canada, published bimonthly. It has been published continuously since 1868. Volumes 1 to 54 are freely accessible in the Biodiversity Heritage Library.-External links:**...
  
  127, 295–411.
• Description, distribution and control in the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture website.
• Plague and government response for the Altica quercetorum plague in Galicia.