Taxonomy
Kingdom:	Phylum:	Class:	Order:	Family:	Genus:	Species:
Animalia	Arthropoda	Insecta	Coleoptera	Chrysomelidae	Chrysolina	C.americana

Rosemary Beetle (Chrysolina americana) is the size of a ladybird has a strikingly metallic green body with purple stripes on the shields on top of the body. In the sunlight the beetle attracts extra attention when the stripes reflect all the colours of the rainbow. Contrary to its Latin name this beetle is native of Southern Europe and not uncommon in the rest of Europe. It is also known as the 'Rosemary Beetle' because it feeds on rosemary, lavender, thyme and other herbs. From the second half of 1990-ties on it has rapidly spread into most parts of Western Europe. By now it is even considered a real pest destroying herb gardens.