Flea Beetle

Description:

Coleoptera; Chrysomelidae; Alticinae; Phyllotreta sp. nr. striolata.

Habitat:

This Flea Beetle was spotted deep in the young, developing rice crop. I was in the middle of the rice, looking for spiders. Treading carefully so as not to damage the crop, I did not want any distractions, but this was a particularly nice beetle and I could not resist one or two pictures. The third picture above is just to show that it was deep in the crop because I think that some insects stay near the edges of the rice field while others venture deeper into what must be a "forest" to them.