Mallow Flea Beetle (Podagrica fuscipes)

There are actually two almost identical species from the genus 'Podagrica' known as 'Mallow Flea beetles'.

The slightly larger of the two, sporting orange legs and palps to match the colour of the head is Podagrica fuscicornis, which is locally common in parts of southeast England and East Anglia but otherwise very local and scarce with rather isolated records scattered across England and southern Wales.

Sharing a similar distribution pattern, but even less common, is P. fuscipes, a 'Scarce (Notable A) species.

The photograph above shows the dark legs and palps which separates the latter species from the former.

Most associated with Common Mallow (Malva sylvestris L.) but also with Musk-Mallow (M. moschata L.) and Marsh-Mallow (Althaea officinalis L.) these flightless beetles are almost always found on their host plants during a season that extends from March through to September, numbers peaking in May and June.

Adults do not overwinter. Instead, larvae overwinter and emerge in the spring to produce the next generation in July. That generation in turn produces the eggs and larvae to see through the following winter in soil.