Apioninae

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Apioninae
1.Omphalapion hookerorum 2. Taeniapion urticarium 3.Pseudapion rufirostre 4.Apion frumentarium 5.Apion miniatum, today synonymous with # 4, 6.Protapion nigritarse 7.Protapion apricans 8.Protaprion varipes 9. Perapion violaceum according to Reitter [1]

1. Omphalapion hookerorum 2. Taeniapion urticarium 3. Pseudapion rufirostre 4. Apion frumentarium 5. Apion miniatum , now synonymous with # 4, 6. Protapion nigritarse 7. Protapion apricans 8. Protaprion varipes 9. Perapion violaceum according to Reitter

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Superfamily : Curculionoidea
Family : Long beetle (Brentidae)
Subfamily : Apioninae
Scientific name
Apioninae
Schönherr , 1823

The Apioninae are a subfamily within the Brentidae family . Their position within the superfamily Curculionoidea was discussed controversially in science, previously they were mostly viewed as an independent family under the name Apionidae. Around 2200 species and subspecies in around 205 genera have been described worldwide.

features

They are small beetles with a body length between one and four millimeters. The body shape of most species is very characteristic: the elytra are ovally rounded and usually widest behind the center, the pronotum is parallel-sided or slightly rounded outwards and narrower than the base of the elytra. The result is a pear-shaped shape, which has given the family its scientific name ( ἃπιον ápion : Greek pear). This body shape reminded others of a shrew , so that some species are called "shrew weevers" in German. But there are also some types with evenly oval rounded or parallel-sided wing coverts.

The Apioninae belong to the more original Curculionoidea with straight (not kneeling) antennae ("Orthoceri"). This makes them easily distinguishable from the species of the presumably closely related subfamily Nanophyinae . What is common with the Nanophyinae is the special structure of the leg links. The trochanter is significantly elongated (at least twice as long as it is wide), so that the thigh ( femur ) and hip ( coxa ) are clearly separated from each other and do not touch. The trunk (anatomically: rostrum) of the Apioninae is narrow and cylindrical, it can be very long or of moderate length, in species with a long trunk it is usually curved. The female almost always has a longer trunk than the male, but the male has larger eyes ( sexual dimorphism ). The labial palps are one-part, the maxillary palps are two-part, rigid and pin-shaped. The head is square or transversely rectangular, the forehead usually merges into the trunk base without a heel. The antennae are turned in on the sides of the trunk in the middle or in the basal half, often this is somewhat wider at the point of attachment. They have seven (rarely six) limbs and a three-limbed club at the top. The antenna lobe is usually compact, only rarely loosely structured or elongated. The complex eyes on the trunk sides are built differently, from flat to hemispherical protruding. The individual eyes ( ommatidia ) are always arched and set apart from one another, they do not form a smooth, common cornea as in the Brentinae. The pronotum usually has a longitudinal furrow or pit in the middle, the elytra usually have nine (sometimes ten) distinct furrows or grooves. The elytra can completely cover the end of the abdomen or, at least in the males, leave the last tergite free as pygidium . The hind wings are often fully developed, but in some species they are completely or partially receded, so that they are no longer airworthy. The first two (free) abdominal plates ( sternites ) are firmly fused together on the abdomen . The rest of the abdomen begins with a distinct step or step. The claws of the legs are almost always serrated on the inside.

The Apioninae are often black in color, many species have blue elytra with a characteristic metallic sheen or the whole body is metallic blue, more rarely also purple. But there are also red or yellowish colorations. Often the legs and antennae are different, usually lighter, colored than the rest of the body. The body is almost always hairy, often with erect, white scaly hair, but almost never closely-fitting scales.

Special features of the internal anatomy include: Most species do not have a muscular gizzard (proventriculus), but this has been proven in some species. There are always at least four Malpighian vessels on the intestine ; if there are six instead, two are shortened and transformed. These then serve as storage organs for symbiotic types of bacteria that support digestion.

Way of life

The larvae of the Apioninae usually feed on the plant tissue of dicotyledonous plants ( dicotyledons ). Most species live on herbaceous plants, some also on tree species. Almost all species are food specialists in one or only a few related plant species (monophagous or oligophagous). Most of the species specialize in Fabaceae (legumes) and Asteraceae (sunflower), but there are also species from a large number of other families, e.g. B. Malvaceae , Polygonaceae , Lamiaceae and many others. used by some genera or species. They mostly mine in the interior of soft, unlignified plant tissue, whereby all possible plant organs, such as roots, stems, buds, ovules, are attacked, depending on the species. Some species produce plant galls, a few mine in leaves. As far as is known, the Apioninae have three larval stages. The last stage pupates, usually inside its host plant, either directly in the feeding passage or in a specially gnawed pupa cradle. Sometimes a cocoon is created from a secreted secretion that later hardens. The adult (imaginal) beetles usually hatch in the same year, in many species the time from egg-laying to hatching of the young beetles is around 40 days in Central Europe, in warmer latitudes such as the Mediterranean region only 20 to 30 days. They overwinter away from the plant in hiding places or in the litter. The beetles also feed on plants, often on the leaves (pitting), usually a ripening feed is necessary before reproduction. The beetles become active again in spring. To lay eggs, the female gnaws a deep cavity with its trunk in the tissue of the nutrient plant, which it then closes again with secretion and food residues. Many species are relatively long-lived with an extended oviposition period. Often the previous year's overwintered beetles and the newly hatched beetles of this year's generation can be observed side by side for a while.

distribution

Apioninae are distributed worldwide and live on all continents with the exception of Antarctica. Due to the small body size and the difficulty of identifying the fauna of the tropics, it is very poorly known, and numerous undescribed species are still suspected here.

Economic importance

A number of species in the family feed on crops and are therefore considered agricultural pests. Many species bound to the seeds of legume species, especially alfalfa , white clover and common horn clover , are considered harmful due to the reduction in seed set. Most of the Central European species are of minor importance as pests. More harmful species are known from warmer latitudes, such as B. Apion corchori of jute , Apion soleatum of cotton , Apion amplum of mung bean , Conapion clavipes of pigeon pea .

In the case of undesirable plant species such as B. neophytes , however, one tries to make plant-damaging Apioninae useful as beneficial insects. Their special host specificity is an advantage here. For example, Apion ulicis was introduced to New Zealand and the USA to control the imported gorse ( Ulex europaeus ) and released there. Ceratapion basicorne is being tested to combat the solstice knapweed ( Centaurea solstitialis ) that has been introduced to North America .

Systematics

Traditionally, the Apioninae were initially considered a subfamily of the Curculionidae . John Lawrence Le Conte first considered them as an independent family in the 19th century; Roy Crowson followed this view in his overview of the beetle families, which remained authoritative for a long time. Based on a cladistic study based on morphological characteristics, they were first classified by Guillermo Kuschel in 1995 as a subfamily of the Brentidae family. Subsequent morphological and molecular studies then made a relationship with the Brentinae and Nanophyinae, occasionally also the Caridae and Ithycerinae, probable, without a clear assignment would result. In particular, the sister group relationship with the Nanophyinae, which is well established on a morphological basis, would therefore again be questionable. The systematists are now divided in the assignment of the group. About the same number of editors either prefer to include them as the subfamily Apioninae in the Brentidae or to let them exist as an independent family Apionidae.

Until 1990, all species of the family were united in a single, very broad genus Apion (the species, some of which are listed in other genera, e.g. the genus Cylas, are now assigned to other families). In a revision in 1990, Miguel Alonzo-Zarazaga raised 36 previous sub-genres to genera; this view has prevailed. The monophyly of most of these genera is uncertain. In a molecular study with 40 Polish species, the generic classification was confirmed, with a few exceptions.

Types (selection)

swell

  • MA Alonso-Zarazaga: Revision of the supraspecific taxa in the Palaearctic Apionidae Schoenherr, 1823 (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea). 1. Introduction and subfamily Nanophyinae Seidlitz, 1891. Fragmenta Entomologica 21, 2, pages 205-262, 1989
  • Lothar Dieckmann: Contributions to the insect fauna of the GDR: Coleoptera - Curculionidae (Apioninae). Contributions to Entomology, 27, pages 7-143, 1977, doi : 10.21248 / contrib.entomol.27.1.7-143 .
  • Ariel Leib Leonid Friedman & Amnon Friedberg: The Apionidae of Israel and the Sinai Peninsula. (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Israel Journal of Entomology, 37, pp. 55-180, 2007
  • Elwood C. Zimmerman: Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) II (Brentidae, Eurhynchidae, Apionidae) and a Chapter on Immature Stages by Brenda May . CSIRO Publishing, 1994 ISBN 978-0-643-05146-1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edmund Reitter : Fauna Germanica, the beetles of the German Empire , Volume V, KGLutz 'Verlag, Stuttgart 1916
  2. ↑ Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga & Marek Wanat: 3.6.3 Apioninae Schönherr 1823. In: Richard AB Leschen & Rolf G. Beutel (eds.): Handbook of Zoology. Arthropoda: Insecta. Coleoptera, Beetles, Vol. 3. Morphology and Systematics (Phytophaga). Walter De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2014, pp. 395-416 ISBN 978-3-11-027370-0
  3. ↑ Ana Maria Virteiu, Ioana Grozea, Ramona Stef, Alin Cabaret, Levente Molnar (2012): Apionidae weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) - population of major importance in the forage leguminous crop for seed production from the western part of Romania. Research Journal of Agricultural Science, 44 (2): 137-142
  4. ↑ Kuschel, G. (1995): A phylogenetic classification of Curculionoidea to families and subfamilies. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Washington 14: 5-33.
  5. ↑ AE Marvaldi, AS Sequeira, CW O'Brien, BD Farrell: Molecular and morphological phylogenetics of weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea): do niche shifts accompany diversification? Systematic Biology, 51, pp. 761-785, 2002
  6. ↑ Anna KC Hundsdoerfer, Joachim Rheinheimer, Michael Wink (2009): Towards the phylogeny of the Curculionoidea (Coleoptera): Reconstructions from mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequences. Zoologischer Anzeiger, 248, 1, pages 9–31, 2009 doi: 10.1016 / j.jcz.2008.09.001
  7. ^ Rolf G. Oberprieler, Adriana E. Marvaldi, Robert S. Anderson: Weevils, weevils, weevils everywhere. Zootaxa, 1668, pp. 491-520, 2007
  8. ↑ Patrice Bouchard, Yves Bousquet, Anthony E. Davies, Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga, John F. Lawrence, Chris HC Lyal, Alfred F. Newton, Chris AM Reid, Michael Schmitt, S. Adam Ślipiński, Andrew BT Smith (2011 ): Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta). ZooKeys 88: 1-972. doi: 10.3897 / zookeys.88.807
  9. ↑ Hans Gonget (1997): The Brentidae (Coleoptera) of Northern Europe. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavica Vol. 34 ISBN 90-04-10847-5
  10. ↑ Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga & CHC Lyal: A World Catalog of families and genera of Curculionoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera) excluding (Scolytidae and Platypodidae). Entomopraxis, 315 pages, 1999 ISBN 978-84-605-9994-4
  11. ↑ Marek Wanat & Tomasz Mokrzycki: A new checklist of the weevils of Poland (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Genus, 16, 1, pp. 69-117, 2005
  12. ^ Joachim Rheinheimer & Michael Hassler: The weevils of Baden-Württemberg. Regional culture publishing house, 2010 ISBN 978-3-89735-608-5 .
  13. ↑ Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga: Revision of the supraspecific taxa in the Palaearctic Apionidae Schoenherr, 1823 (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea). 2: Subfamily Apioninae Schoenherr, 1823: Instruction, keys and descriptions. Graellsia, 46, pp. 19-156, 1990
  14. ↑ Aneta A. Ptaszyńska, Jacek Łętowski, Sebastian Gnat, Wanda Małek Application of COI sequences in studies of phylogenetic relationships among 40 Apionidae species. Journal of Insect Science 12:16 pm online

Web links

Commons : Apioninae  - collection of images, videos and audio files