Belidae

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Belidae
Rhinotia hemistictus

Rhinotia hemistictus

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Cucujiformia
Superfamily : Curculionoidea
Family : Belidae
Scientific name
Belidae
Schönherr , 1826

The Belidae are a family of weevils (superfamily Curculionoidea ). The family includes 348 described species in 55 genera (without only known fossil). Their distribution center is in Australia and South America as well as on the Pacific islands.

features

The Belidae belong to the morphologically more original weevil families with straight, non-kneeling antennae ("Orthoceri"). The body shape is very different between the two subfamilies and also very different within. The Belinae are elongated, cylindrical beetles, the Oxycoryninae mostly flattened. Some species have conspicuous, pointed or thorny wing covers. Some Australian species imitate poisonous red- capped beetles of the genus Metriorrhynchus in their body shape , South American species of the genus Homalocerus have drawing patterns that are reminiscent of poisonous Lampyridae (Bates' mimicry ). The different groups, which were previously divided into three (or even four) separate families, are only held together by a few autapomorphic characteristics. The family monophyly is primarily due to characteristics of the larvae. The beetles themselves have a triangular sclerite bordered by two seams, the "gula", on the underside of the head. A gula is present in many beetle families with a protruding head ( plesiomorphic feature), in almost all other weevils (with the exception of some Nemonychidae) it is either shifted into the head, so that externally only a seam is visible, or even completely fused. Further plesiomorphic features are the possession of two spurs on the middle and rear rails, partly also on the front rails, and five free, unfused abdominal plates (sternites) of about the same length on the abdomen. In contrast to the Nemonychidae and Anthribidae , however, they do not have a free labrum on the tip of the proboscis. On the rails (tibia) of the forelegs there is always a characteristic furrow or depression with stiff bristles, which serves as an antenna cleaning device. There are species with a moderately long and thin, curved proboscis, in others this is strongly shortened and hardly recognizable (Aglycyderini tribe). The antennae are located on the base of the trunk or the middle of the trunk. The antennae of the Belinae do not carry a club, or this is loosely structured and hardly separated from the antennae flagella. The Oxycoryninae, however, have a distinct and compact club with two fused limbs. The eyes protrude hemispherically from the head contour in all species. The forehead between them is usually the width of a trunk.

Larvae

The larvae of the Belidae are typical weevil larvae, which, with the exception of the head capsule, are hardly sclerotized and soft-skinned, mostly white and ringed. They are usually curved in a C-shape and have no legs. The larvae usually have more bristles than those of the Curculionidae . Special features of the family are u. a .: The head is permanently pulled back slightly into the trunk. The antennas are short and unsclerotized, they work in two parts due to a retractable membrane. On the outside of the labrum there are two heavily sclerotized ridges. The frontal sutures have receded on the sclerotized head capsule. In the Belinae, the posterior margin of the pronotum is widened and drawn out backwards.

Way of life

Most Belidae live as larvae inside ailing or dead branches of woody plants. Most of the more original species are attached to conifers. In Australia, most species of the subfamily Belinae occur instead on (true) acacias (genus Acacia ). Many South American species are said to be tied to ferns. Others live in the cones of araucarias .

Deviations from this most common way of life are not uncommon. The South American Oxycoryninae live exclusively in the inflorescences (inflorescences) of parasitic flowering plants of the families Hydnoraceae and Balanophoraceae , whereby they spare the actual flowers and ovules. The infested species parasitize on roots underground, so that the inflorescence is the only part of the plant above ground. The genus Proterhinus lives in Hawaii and a few other Pacific islands, with a remarkable radiation of over 130 species, many of which are endemic to individual islands , has taken place in Hawaii . The species mostly live under the bark of a variety of plant species, some are even leaf miners . The species Aglycyderes setifer , which is widespread in the Canary Islands and as an island in Morocco, bores into dead branches of milkweed (genus Euphorbia ).

Some South and Central American species that are bound to cycads have become particularly well known . Two species of the genus Rhopalotria are each distributed monophag on a cycad species of the genus Zamia , one of these species occurs as far as the south of the USA (Florida). The weevils look for catkins (strobili), whereby they only accept newly developing ones, which are characterized by rapid growth through heat development. The beetles fight for access and have specially modified front legs for this. When flying from one kitten to the next, they transport pollen on the body surface, which fertilizes the plant. The females lay eggs in an eroded niche of a male kitten, the larva develops inside. The cycad relies on the beetles for pollination, wind pollination does not take place.

Systematics

The Belidae family in the current delimitation was finally established by Adriana Marvaldi in 2004, but is now widely accepted as such. Most of the older authors used this name to refer to today's subfamily Belinae. The species of the subfamily Oxycoryninae were considered, depending on the author, as independent families Oxycorynidae, Aglycyderidae and Proterhinidae. Later cladistic analyzes based on the morphology of larvae and adults as well as molecular pedigrees have shown that they belong together. Their position within the superfamily Curculionoidea is relatively basal. They are considered to be the sister group of all weevils, with the exception of the Nemonychidae and Anthribidae, taken together.

The family is divided into two subfamilies:

distribution

With a few exceptions, the Belidae are restricted to the southern hemisphere. Most of the species are in Australia and the Pacific Islands, e.g. B. New Zealand , New Guinea and Hawaii, common, many also occur in South America. The Belinae are limited in their distribution to these regions. The Oxycoryninae show essentially the same distribution, but are a little more common in some places. The aglycyderini, which are characterized by their peculiar, modified morphology (in the past even considered as a separate subfamily or even family) occur completely isolated from each other on three islands / archipelagos: the Canary Islands, Hawaii and New Zealand / New Caledonia. Such fragmented (disjoint) areas are typical of relic groups that were once widespread. Two genera ( Afrocorynus and Hispodes ) live in South Africa.

Fossils

As with most ancient families, which are mainly characterized by plesiomorphic characteristics, the reliable assignment of fossil species to the family is difficult. In the past, the extinct subfamily Eobelinae was considered the parent group of the Belidae. Today the Eobelinae are considered to be representatives of the even more original family Nemonychidae. Some species were separated from the Eobelinae and left with the Belidae, but this assignment is uncertain. Fossil representatives of the family are said to be from the Jura , from the Karatau deposit in Kazakhstan, and the chalk , from the Montsec deposit in Spain. Apparently they are rare in amber. One species has been described from Cretaceous amber from France.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ AA Legalov (2009): Annotated checklist and fossil species of the family belidae (Coleoptera) from the world fauna. Amurian zoological journal 1 (4): 296-324.
  2. ↑ Brenda Μ. May (1993): Larvae of Curculionoidea (Insecta: Coleoptera): a systematic overview. In: Lincoln, NZ (editor): Fauna of New Zealand, No. 28. Manaaki Whenua Press.
  3. ↑ Adriana E. Marvaldi (2003): Key to larvae of the South American subfamilies of weevils (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea). Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 76: 603-612.
  4. ^ A b c Adriana E. Marvaldi (2005): Larval morphology and biology of oxycorynine weevils and the higher phylogeny of Belidae (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea). Zoologica Scripta 34 (1): 37-48.
  5. ↑ Sergio A. Vanin (1976): Taxonomic revision of the sout american (Belidae) (Coleoptera). Arquivos de Zoologia 28 (1): 1-75.
  6. ↑ María S. Ferrer, Adriana E. Marvaldi, Héctor A. Sato, Ana M. Gonzalez (2011): Biological notes on two species of Oxycorynus (Coleoptera: Belidae) associated with parasitic plants of the genus Lophophytum (Balanophoraceae), and new distribution records in Argentina. Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 70 (3-4): 351-355
  7. ^ OH Swezey (1938): Host Plant Records of the Species of Proterhinus (Col.) in Hawaii. Proceeding of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 10, No. 1: 63-74.
  8. ↑ DL Uyttenboogaart: Contributions to the knowledge of the fauna of the Canary Islands XIX . In: Tijdschrift Voor Entomologie . 80, 1937, pp. 75-118.
  9. ↑ Dietrich Schneider, Michael Wink, Frank Spohrer, Philip Lounibos (2002): Cycads, their evolution, toxins, herbivores and insect pollinators. Science 89: 281-294.
  10. ↑ 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
  11. ↑ DD McKenna, AS Sequeira, AE Marvaldi, BD Farrell (2009): Temporal lags and overlap in the diversification of weevils and flowering plants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106: 7083-7088.
  12. ↑ Vadim G. Gratshev & Vladimir V. Zherikhin (2003): The fossil record of weevils and related beetle families (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea). Acta zoologica cracoviensia, 46 (suppl.- Fossil Insects): 129-138.
  13. ↑ VV Zherikhin & VG Gratshev (1997): The Early Cretaceous weevils from Sierra del Montsec, Spain (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Cretaceous Research 18: 625-632.
  14. ^ Carmen Soriano (2009): First record of the family Belidae (Insecta, Coleoptera) in amber. New genus and species from the uppermost Albian amber of France. Geodiversitas 31 (1): 99-104.