Long beetle

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Long beetle
Orychodes indus

Orychodes indus

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Cucujiformia
Superfamily : Curculionoidea
Family : Long beetle
Scientific name
Brentidae
Billberg , 1820

The long beetles (Brentidae) are a family of the beetles (Coleoptera). They belong to the superfamily Curculionoidea . Their main distribution area is in the tropics, especially in the rainforests of tropical East Asia .

There are different views in science about the status and delimitation of this family. The position of the Apioninae and Nanophyinae , which were previously run by numerous authors as independent families, is particularly relevant for Central Europe . The following description refers to the family Brentidae in the original sense, i.e. H. the subfamily Brentinae of the alternative systematics. For the characteristics of the other subfamilies compare there.

features

Complete diurus

Most Brentinae are elongated, cylindrically shaped beetles. Some shapes are extremely elongated and thin, and have long, thin legs. They are mostly monochrome brown, but there are also species that are very contrasting and colorful. The surface of the body is usually smooth, it is often hairy but not scaly.

The trunk is of different length, it is usually stretched forward in a straight extension of the head. Sometimes it is divided into two sections by a constriction. The antennae are straight without a kink behind the base member (not "kneeled"), they typically have no antenna lobe, but caved antennae are also found, especially in smaller species. In the male of Cylas formicarius , the club is elongated and longer than the rest of the antennae. The antennae are usually located on the sides of the trunk and can be inserted into antennae pits at the back. The mostly quite small complex eyes protrude from the head contour in a hemispherical manner, their structure is highly characteristic of the family: the individual eyes ( ommatidia ) of the complex eye are not each arched, but a coherent and smooth cornea covers the entire surface of the eye. In many species, the head is neck-shaped constricted backwards, sometimes with elongated, cheek-shaped temples. The pronotum is usually elongated and the width of the elytra , it can also be wider than this. Its rear edge (base), which is often constricted in a ring, covers the label , which is invisible when it is at rest. The elongated, mostly parallel-sided wing covers reach the end of the abdomen. They often have pronounced grooves or dot stripes. In many species they are drawn out in conspicuous tips at the back. The membranous hind wings are usually complete and the animals can fly. The first two exposed abdominal plates ( sternites ) are fused together on the abdomen . The other sternites are a little deeper than this with a clear step. The seams that delimit the third and fourth exposed sternite are movable and form a kind of hinge joint with which the beetle can open the abdomen, which is hard-armored when the wing covers are closed.

The trochanters on the legs are short and triangular, which means that the hips ( coxa ) and thighs ( femur ) come into contact with one another. The rails of the front legs often have a special structure (a recess with bristles) that is used to clean the antennas. The claws are free and imperforate. On all legs, but at least on the middle and rear legs, there are one or two spurs at the end of the rails.

The different shapes of males and females ( sexual dimorphism ) are striking and very characteristic of the subfamily . The trunk of the females is usually long and thin, while the males of the same species have short, stocky trunk shapes. There are also species, as an exception among the Curculionoidea, in which the male has the longer proboscis. The mandibles at the tip of the proboscis are very often noticeably enlarged in the males. They serve them in the battles for females. If a male meets a couple, the male tries to pry it down from the female's back with its trunk; the trunk can then be extended accordingly. In the New Zealand giraffe weevil Lasiorhynchus barbicornis it reaches body length (together up to 86 millimeters). If this fails, it often tries to bite off the opponent's legs or antennae with the mandibles. Usually this lets go when the rival has grabbed a limb, but it is not uncommon to find males with bitten off leg limbs. The mandibles are not used in feeding the male.

Way of life

Most Brentinae live as larvae in living, but more often in dead wood, in which they dig galleries and tunnels that are reminiscent of those of the bark beetle (Scolytinae). As with these, wood-dwelling fungi are said to be essential for the diet, but the family has not yet been well researched in this regard. Some forms with particularly long and slender physiques have gone over to penetrating tunnels and galleries of other wood-dwelling insects and killing their original inhabitants (mostly bark beetles). You then take over their tunnel system for your own offspring. A whole range of species in all parts of the world, including the two European representatives, live in ant nests ( myrmecophilia ). They often have special glandular fields on their heads that secrete secretions sought after by the ants. Only one line of development (genus Cylas and relatives) lives on living plants; they colonize the storage tubers of the sweet potato . The species Cylas formicarius was carried away with the economically important plant tubers and is now distributed worldwide.

In many species, the female eats with the mandibles at the tip of the proboscis a deep egg-laying niche on the host plant, in which it can then sink the eggs into the plant tissue in a protected manner. In some species, the antennas can be turned back and inserted into a gutter; they are pivoted on all sides with a ball joint. Mating usually takes place during hole drilling. The larva completes its life cycle in the wood or host tissue and usually pupates there too. Little is known about the biology of most species. The exception is Cylas formicarius , which is feared as a pest . This species needs about one to two months to develop from egg to imago. It does not make an obligatory diapause, but the generations follow one another directly, with development delays or short breaks in the cold and bad weather. Five generations are reported per year in Texas and eight in Louisiana. Adults can be found all year round.

distribution

Brentinae are predominantly tropical animals; only a few species occur in temperate latitudes. They are rich in species in Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia can only be reached with one species each. Warmer Pacific islands such as Fiji are populated with more species (here 22 species). There are 24 species in Japan, only four in North America, only two of them outside of Florida. There are two species in Europe, Amorphocephala coronata in the entire Mediterranean area and Orfilaia reichei in Spain.

Systematics

The delimitation of the Brentidae family is controversial in science. According to the prevailing view, a widely demarcated family is preferred, which in addition to the Brentinae also includes the Ithycerinae , Nanophyinae , Apioninae , Microcerinae and Eurhynchinae , which were formerly often viewed as independent families . Other authors group some of the groups mentioned in the Brentidae, while they consider others to be independent. For Central Europe, the most problematic is the position of the Apioninae, which are regarded as a subfamily of the Brentidae by about the same number of processors or classified as a separate family.

For a broad family of Brentidae, characteristics of the larvae are mainly used. The reunification is problematic, even if almost all authors assume that these families are closely related. In a phylogenetic analysis, the grouping was not covered by either the morphological or the molecular data, but occurred when the two were combined, but was only weakly supported here. Another molecular study supported the grouping, but also with little certainty.

According to the studies, a sister group relationship between the family Brentidae in the broader sense and the "higher" weevils of the (then also broad) family Curculionidae would be most likely . The position of the families / subfamilies within the broad Brentidae is currently unclear. The Ithyceridae are probably the sister group of the other families. The position of the Caridae family , which was sometimes also included in the Brentidae, has also not been finally clarified. Probably these are the sister group of the groups mentioned together.

For a broad family Brentidae no convincing autapomorphies can be given at the present time . The only candidates currently named are: Labrum of the larva with only one middle sensillum, only four Malpighian vessels on the midgut (also in Nemonychidae , Anthribidae and a few Curculionidae).

Subfamilies

The family of long beetles (in the broader sense) comprises two larger subfamilies, the Apioninae and the Brentinae, and four small subfamilies, whose phylogenetic position within the long beetles has not yet been researched. In this compilation, the long beetles comprise around 540 genera with around 4400 species.

The following subfamilies are distinguished:

Ecological importance

Some species are considered invasive harmful organisms for which quarantine regulations are known. Cylas formicarius ( English "Sweet Potato Weevil" ) (and some related species) are significant pests on sweet potatoes with an almost worldwide distribution. The North American Arrhenodes minutus ( English "Oak Timber Worm") is a pest on timber, especially oak species. As of 2019, its distribution area will extend from southern Canada across large parts of the eastern United States to Florida. Within the EU it is classified as a reportable quarantine pathogen.

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MJ Meads (1976): Some Observations on Lasiorhynchus barbicornis (Brentidae: Coleoptera). New Zealand Entomologist Vol.6 No.2: 171-176.
  2. ↑ Sweet Potato Weevil, Cylas formicarius. University of Florida document EENY-027 (IN154)
  3. ↑ G. Kuschel (2003): Nemonychidae, Belidae, Brentidae (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Fauna of New Zealand Number 45 Manaaki Whenua Press.
  4. ^ RA Beaver, A. Mantilleri, LY Liu (2009): Checklist and Illustrated Key to Species of Brentidae from Fiji (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 102: 3–26.
  5. ↑ Katsura Morimoto (1976): On the Japanese Species of the Family Brentidae (Coleoptera). Japanese journal of entomology 44 (3): 267-282.
  6. ↑ Michael C. Thomas (1996): The Primitive Weevils of Florida (Coleoptera: Brentidae: Brentinae). Entomology Circular No. 375 Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services.
  7. ↑ M. García-París & C. Olmos (1992): Nuevas citas y algunos datos biométricos de Amorphocephala coronata (Germar, 1817) en la Península Ibérica (Coleoptera, Brenthidae). Boletín de la Asociación española de Entomología 16: 207-212.
  8. ^ A b Rolf G. Oberprieler, Adriana E. Marvaldi, Robert S. Anderson: Weevils, weevils, weevils everywhere. Zootaxa, 1668, pp. 491-520, 2007
  9. ↑ 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: Family -group names in Coleoptera (Insecta). ZooKeys, 88, pp. 1-972, 2011. doi: 10.3897 / zookeys.88.807
  10. ↑ MA 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. ↑ Hans Gønget: The Brentidae (Coleoptera) of Northern Europe. Fauna Entomologica Scandinavia, 34, Brill, Leiden, Boston 2003 ISBN 90-04-13663-0 .
  12. ^ Joachim Rheinheimer & Michael Hassler: The weevils of Baden-Württemberg. Regional culture publishing house, 2010 ISBN 978-3-89735-608-5
  13. ^ Rolf Oberprieler: The larvae of the weevil tribe Eurhynchini and the phylogeny of the Brentidae (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea). Invertebrate Taxonomy, 14, 6, pages 755-770, 2000
  14. ↑ AE Marvaldi, AS Sequeira, CW O'Brien, BD Farrell (2002): Molecular and morphological phylogenetics of weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea): do niche shifts accompany diversification? Systematic Biology 51: 761-785.
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ Rolf G. Oberprieler: 3.6 Brentidae Billberg 1820. In: Richard AB Leschen & Rolf G. Beutel (ed.): Handbook of Zoology. Arthropoda: Insecta. Coleoptera, Beetles, Vol. 3. Morphology and Systematics (Phytophaga). Walter De Gruyter, Berlin / Boston 2014, pp. 363–123 ISBN 978-3-11-027370-0
  17. ↑ Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): Cylas formicarius (species and distribution) (accessed July 23, 2019)
  18. ^ JW Moyer, GVH Jackson, EA Frison ,: FAO / IBPGR Technical Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Sweet Potato Germplasm , Bioversity International , 1989, ISBN 92-9043-149-0 , pp. 26-27.
  19. ↑ Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): Arrhenodes minutus (species and distribution) (accessed July 23, 2019)

literature

  • 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 .
  • Katsura Morimoto: Notes on the Family Characters of Apionidae and Brentidae (Coleoptera), with Key to the Related Families. Japanese journal of entomology, 44, 4, pp. 469-476, 1976

Web links

Commons : Long Beetle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files