Platycleis tessellata (Charpentier, 1825)

Nutrition:
Herbs (especially flowers and fruits), grasses, soft insects.

Habitat:
Platycleis tessellata inhabits dry and warm pastures, ruderal areas and nutrient-poor grasslands. Extensivel grazed pastures with much Bromus erectus are the most common type of habitat. Platycleis tessellata is usually very local. I found it in a spot of only a few 100 square meters within a large slope in Massif de la Sainte Baume (S-France).

Life cycle:
The adults appear between late June and October. They are well camouflaged by their light color between the dry grasses.

Endangerment factors:
Platycleis tessellata is nearly extinct in its northern outposts in Central Europe. In the Mediterranean, it is also local, but sites are much more numerous there.

Remarks:
The Mediterranean species penetrates north to Central France (locally even farther) and Southwestern Germany (Upper Rhine Valley).