Brachinus sclopeta
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Brachinus scloptea |
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Brachinus sclopeta is a beetle from the family of ground beetles and the subfamily of the bombardier beetle . It belongs to the subgenus Brachynidius , which is represented in Europe with thirteen species ,some of which are difficult to distinguish.
The genus name Brachinus and the name of the subgenus Brachynidius is of ancient Greek βραχαίνω brachaino , I soon ab 'derived and refers to the shortened elytra cover. The species name sclopeta from Latin sclopēta 'Klapps, Schall' alludes to the noise that the beetle can produce in connection with a chemical reaction.
Characteristics of the beetle
The vividly colored beetle reaches a length of five to seven millimeters. The slightly glossy elytra are steel blue to violet blue, head, chest, abdomen and body appendages yellowish red to brick red.
The head is slightly wider than the pronotum, the mouthparts point forward. The upper jaws have an inwardly curved tip, the inner edge is toothed. The end link of the lip switch is elongated egg-shaped and truncated at the end. The eleven-limbed antennae are thread-like and finely hairy from the third limb.
The heart-shaped pronotum is longer than it is wide. The margin is raised.
The mostly blue, glossy elytra have a red to brown, narrow, not sharply delimited longitudinal spot (scutellar spot) at the base along the seam . Usually it extends over the first third of the wing cover and widens slightly at the end. The elytra are flat above and, as a feature of the subgenus, have relatively pronounced shoulders. They are sparsely dotted with very fine dots and have so short hairs that the hairs do not overlap. Dot stripes are usually very flat and fine, but can also be missing. At the back, the wing covers are trimmed almost in a straight line and leave a small part of the abdomen uncovered. The end of the wing-coverts is provided with a very narrow and fine hem, which, however, is missing loosely placed bristles and which is not densely covered with fine, very short hair.
biology
The species prefers but not exclusively lives in damp habitats, on meadows, also in gardens and on the banks of water. The beetle can be found under branches and stones, between plant roots and in crevices.
As a name-giving property, the bombardier beetles can emit a gas mixture that audibly explodes in the air. Temperatures of up to 100 ° C occur here. The striking color of Brachinus sclopeta is seen as a warning color , which allows predators to recognize more quickly that the prey is inedible. Experiments have shown that various predators attack Brachinus sclopeta much less frequently than alternative prey animals.
The ejection of the exploding mixture is not only used for defense, but also plays a role as a stimulant for mutual attraction of conspecifics. Brachinus sclopeta is sociable and often socialized with other beetles. In long-term laboratory tests combined with field observations, it has been shown that the degree of socialization within the species fluctuates cyclically over the course of the year. The intra-species group formation is most intense in autumn and winter. In the spring, the tendency towards group formation decreases significantly. It reaches two minimums, but never goes out completely. The first minimum is about a month before the pairings, after which the tendency towards group formation increases again. A second minimum follows after pairing is complete. Mating takes place from March to May, earlier in populations from southern France than in populations further north. The eggs are laid about two months after the first pairings. The first larvae are observed from the end of May. Brachinus sclopeta lived in the laboratory for five years. The two minima are not caused by different behavior of the sexes, but the tendency towards group formation runs parallel in both sexes.
In a series of tests it was found that the ground beetle Anchomenus dorsalis benefits from living together with Brachinus sclopeta . Anchomenus dorsalis not only imitates Brachinus sclopeta in size, color and surface structure , but also rubs against it or, in an experiment, against special paper soaked with its fragrances. It is significantly less attacked than alternative prey by four predators tested.
As far as examined, the larvae of species of the genus Brachinus live ectoparasitic on the pupae of beetle species. They show three larval stages, all of which feed on the same pupa. The development cycles of the parasite and host are coordinated accordingly. For Brachinus sclopeta the ground beetle Amara dorsalis could be considered.
distribution
The species is mainly found in southern Europe and North Africa. However, it still reaches the UK . It is also reported from northern Persia .
literature
- Heinz Joy, Karl Wilhelm Harde, Gustav Adolf Lohse: The beetles of Central Europe . tape 2 . Adephaga 1. Elsevier, Spektrum, Akad. Verl., Munich 1976, ISBN 3-87263-025-3 .
- Gustav Jäger (Ed.): CG Calwer’s Käferbuch . 3. Edition. K. Thienemanns, Stuttgart 1876.
- Edmund Reitter : Fauna Germanica, the beetles of the German Empire. Volume I, KGLutz 'Verlag, Stuttgart 1908.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Brachinus sclopeta in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 25, 2012
- ↑ Brachynidius (subgenus) in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 25, 2012
- ↑ Sigmund Schenkling: Explanation of the scientific beetle names.
- ↑ Determination table coleo-net
- ↑ María del Camino Peláez, José María Salgado: Los Carabidae (Coleoptera) del Macizo del Sueve (Asturias): análisis ecológico y biogeográfico en relación con la vegetación. In: Boletin Asoc. esp. Entom. Vol 30 (3-4), 2006, ISSN 0210-8984 , pp. 131-183. (as PDF; 768 kB)
- ^ Ana M. Campos Gómez, Francisco Novoa Docet: Los Carabidae (Orden Coleoptera) de Galicia Catálogo, Distrbución y Ecología. Universidade, Servizo de Publicacións e Intercambio Científico, Santiago de Compostela 2006, ISBN 84-9750-629-4 .
- ↑ JM Pérez Zaballow: Los Carabidae (Col.) de las dehesas de encina de la provincia de Salamanca In: Boletin Asoc. esp. Entom. Vol 6 Fasc. 2, pp. 295–323 Salamanca, June 1983. (as PDF; 3.4 MB)
- ↑ Bernhard Klausnitzer: The wonder world of the beetles. Herder, Freiburg 1982, ISBN 3-451-19630-1 .
- ↑ T. Bonacci, P. Brandmayr, TZ Brandmayr: Predator feeding choice on concpicuous and non-conspicuous carabid beetles: frist results. Zookeys. 2011; (100), pp. 171-179 doi : 10.3897 / zookeys.100.1525 . PMC 3131014 (free full text)
- ↑ Teresa Bonacci, Pietro Brandmayr, Renato Dalpozzo, Antonio De Nino, Alessandro Massolo, Antonio Tagarelli, Tullia Zetto Brandmayr: Odor and Color Similarity in Two Species of Gregarious Carabid Beetles (Coleoptera) from the Crati Valley, Southern Italy: A Case of Müllerian Mimicry? In: Entomological News. November 2008: Vol. 119, Issue 4 (Nov 2008), pp. 325–337, doi : 10.3157 / 0013-872X-119.4.325 .
- ↑ Teresa Bonacci, Gaetano Aloise, Pietro Brandmayr, Mara Cagnin, Tullia Zetto Brandmayr: Risposte comportamentali di Crocidura leucodon (Herrmann, 1780) (Insectivora, Soriciade) ai meccanismi antipredatori di alcuni antropodi. In: HYSTRIX. the Italian Journal of Mammology. Vol 15, no 1 (2004), ISSN 1825-5272 abstract
- ↑ J. Wautier, V. Wautier: Modification, en rapport avec l'activité sexual, du comportement grégaire chez Brachinus sclopeta (Col. Carabidae). In: Ann. Soc. Entomol. de France. 3, 1967, ISSN 0037-9271 , pp. 655-662.
- ^ V. Wautier: Comparaison du comportement gregaire des males et des femelles de Brachinus sclopeta a l'époque de la reproduction. In: Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France. Tome 76, janvier-février 1971.
- ↑ TZ Brandmayr, T. Bonacci, A. Masollo, P. Brandmayr: What is going on between aposematic carabid beetles? The case of "Anchomenus dorsalis" and "Brachinus sclopeta" (Coleoptera Carabidae). In: Ethology, Ecology & Evolution. Vol. 18 Issue 4, 2006 doi : 10.1080 / 08927014.2006.9522700 .
- ↑ Pavel Saska, Alois Hone: Development of the Beetle Parasitoids "Brachinus explodens" and "Brachinus crepitans" (Coleoptera: Carabidae). In: Journal of Zoology. Vol 226; Issue 1, pp. 29-36. January 2004.
