Appearance
The spiny appearance of Hispa atra is its most striking feature. In Europe this is shared with only a few other species of beetles. This "Spiky beetle" (de: Stachelkäfer) or "Little hedehog" (nl: Egeltje) has a length of 3-4mm and is all dullish black except for the orangy-brown tips of the antennae. The antennae carry a large spine on the first segment and the pronotum carries two dual spines on the front margin, missing in the other European Hispini (Discladispa).
Distribution
Most species in the genus Hispa are known from the Indian subcontinent, with Hispa atra being the only one that has expanded its range to Asia Minor and Europe. It has not (yet?) made the jump to the British Isles.Reproduction
The larvae are leaf and stem miners in various grasses (Poa, Agropyrum etc). The eggs are deposited in a small slit created by the mother near the top of a leaf or stem and covered with a brownish secretion. The larvae emerge after about a week and start eating their way down the leaf or stem toward the root. They pupate either in the mine or outside on the ground between the stems. Adults emerge in summer and almost directly go into a diapause until the next spring.References:
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