Byturus ochraceus

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Byturus ochraceus
Byturus ochraceus

Byturus ochraceus

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Family : Flower eater (Byturidae)
Genre : Byturus
Type : Byturus ochraceus
Scientific name
Byturus ochraceus
( Scriba , 1790)
Byturus ochraceus (Scriba, 1790) .jpg Byturus ochraceus under.jpg
Fig. 1: Top view Fig. 2: underside
Byturus ochraceus front.jpg Byturus ochraceus head.jpg
Fig. 4: white double arrows:
eye relief and
eye diameter
Fig. 3: Front view
Byturus ochraceus Aedoeagus.jpg
Byturus ochraceus side.jpg
Fig. 5: Aedeagus Fig. 6: Side view

Byturus ochraceus is a beetle fromthe flower eater family (Byturidae). The genus Byturus isonly representedin Europe with Byturus ochraceus, only with the very similar species Byturus tomentosus .

Notes on the name

The species was still called Byturus fumatus in Reitter and Byturus aestivus in the standard work Freude-Harde-Lohse , but in the second supplement the name was changed to Byturus ochraceus . The current name goes back to Scriba 1790, who listed the species as the 81st species of the genus Dermestes under the German name Ockergelber Schabkäfer and the scientific name Dermestes ochraceus ( Latin ochrácĕus ochergelb). Scriba did not provide a description or a drawing, but he referred to a description with a picture from 1783 by Herbst , who described the beetle under the name Dermestes fumatus . As Scriba already suspected and is now assumed, it was a different beetle than the Dermestes fumatus described by Fabricius , which the species held for autumn. The name was therefore no longer available, even if it was retained by Reitter. Scriba recognized Byturus tomentosus De Geer as a closely related species .

The genus Byturus goes back to a split from Dermestes by Latreille . The generic name is from Altgr. βύσσος “býssos” for “cotton” and ουρά “ourá” for “tail” and alludes to the fact that the larvae have tufts of hair at the end of the abdomen. However, this is not the case. This curiosity can be explained by the fact that Latreille does not indicate a corresponding species in the first description of the genus, but presumably had the Dermestes tomentosus described by Fabricius in front of him. This species was among the species that Latreille added to the genus in later work. Other species were temporarily included in the genus, temporarily excluded and the description of the genus changed several times. By confusing two homonyms ( Dermestes tomentosus in Fabricius and in De Geer, the latter is the raspberry beetle ), only species remained, to which the original definition of the genus does not apply. In the meantime, however, the generic name is considered naturalized.

Characteristics of the beetle

Male and female beetles reach sizes from 3.6 to 4.6 millimeters. Their bodies appear somewhat cylindrical and have silk-like hair around them. The color of the beetles appears golden brown, possibly gray-brown with age, usually more yellow-brown than Byturus tomentosus . The dark and relatively large eyes are strongly arched. When looking straight at the forehead, in contrast to Byturus tomentosus, the longitudinal diameter of the eyes is significantly larger than half the distance between the inner edges of the eyes (Fig. 4).
The eleven-part antennae end in a three-part club. They are inserted under the side of the forehead in front of the eyes (Fig. 3).

The upper lip is clearly visible. The arched upper jaws have four to five blunt teeth on the inside behind the tip. The jaws are four-parted, the end part is long and almost cylindrical, truncated diagonally at the tip. The three-part lip stylus is made up of two similar basic links and a long, egg-shaped end link (Fig. 3).

The pronotum is at least twice as wide as it is long and is narrowed and rounded from the center to the front. The side edge narrows towards the front, but reaches the anterior angles (Fig. 3). Like the head, it is dense and finely dotted .

The label is about the same length as it is wide and rounded at the back.

The elytra are together only a little wider than the pronotum. They completely cover the abdomen. They are very dense and fine, but clearly more coarsely dotted than the head and pronotum. Rows of dots are missing, but in the rear area of ​​the wing covers a stripe parallel to the wing cover seam is visible.

The underside is darker to black. Five abdominal segments are clearly recognizable (Fig. 2). The hips are narrowly separated. The tarsi are five-part. The fourth phalanx is small, the second and third phalanx are elongated into a sole flap (Fig. 3). The male sexual organ provides a sure distinguishing feature of the two types. In Byturus ochraceus , it does not end in a uniformly pointed manner, but is wider and ends in a small knoll (Fig. 5).

distribution

Byturus ochraceus is widespread in Europe like Asia Minor. However, the species is absent in Portugal and most of the Mediterranean and Atlantic islands. The occurrence is uncertain in Spain and Greece, as well as in some south-eastern European countries.

biology

In April to May, Byturus ochraceus leaves its wintering quarters in the ground about 10 days before the flowers of the carnation root . Soon it will be possible to observe collections of beetles on the flowers of various mainly yellow-flowered flowering plants (e.g. buttercups, cruciferous and composites), where ripening feeding takes place. This takes place in April and May. Due to the pollen found in gastric examinations, a high flower constancy was found. They spent an average of five to ten minutes on a flower in order to then look for a flower of the same plant species. As a result, they play a certain role as pollinators, for example for St. Christopher's herb . For mating and for laying eggs, only the common carnation is sought. From September onwards there are no more bugs to be found. Hatched larvae first feed on the flower base and later on the fruits. Pupation takes place in the ground. Byturus ochraceus beetles hatch after about six weeks and survive the winter in the ground.

The white larvae of Byturus ochraceus have dark brown shields on their backs and eat plant tissue and fruits of species of the avens, the adults of Byturus ochraceus pollen (e.g. from dandelions or creeping buttercups) and nectar.

literature

  • Heinz joy, Karl Wilhelm Harde, Gustav Adolf Lohse (ed.): The beetles of Central Europe . tape 7 . Clavicornia. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Munich 1967, ISBN 3-8274-0681-1 . P. 20 as Byturus aestivus
  • Klaus Koch : The Beetles of Central Europe Ecology . 1st edition. tape 2 . Goecke & Evers, Krefeld 1989, ISBN 3-87263-040-7 . P. 141 as Byturus aestivus
  • Edmund Reitter : Fauna Germanica, the beetles of the German Empire III. Volume, KGLutz 'Verlag, Stuttgart 1911 p. 4 as Byturus fumatus F.

Web links

Commons : Byturus ochraceus  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Byturus at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved April 3, 2015
  2. ^ A b Edmund Reitter : Fauna Germanica, the beetles of the German Empire III. Volume, KGLutz 'Verlag, Stuttgart 1911 p. 4
  3. ↑ Heinz Freude, Karl Wilhelm Harde, Gustav Adolf Lohse (ed.): Die Käfer Mitteleuropas . tape 7 . Clavicornia. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Munich 1967, ISBN 3-8274-0681-1 . P. 20
  4. ↑ Gustav Adolf Lohse, Wilhelm H. Lucht: Die Käfer Mitteleuropas . tape 13 , 2nd supplement volume with catalog section. Goecke & Evers, Krefeld 1992, ISBN 3-87263-043-1 . P. 91
  5. ↑ Sigmund Schenkling: Explanation of the scientific beetle names (species)
  6. ↑ a b L.G. Scriba: First continuation of the directory of insects in the Darmstadt area in Journal for Entomology Lovers Volume 1, 2nd piece Frankfurt 1790 p. 153 Preview in Google book search
  7. ↑ a b Joh.F.Wilh. Autumn: Critical directory of my insect collection in Johann Caspar Füssli: Archive of Insect History Volume 4, 1783, p. 20 Preview in Google book search
  8. ↑ Latreille: Précis des caractères génériques des insectes ... Paris 1796 as 130th genus
  9. ↑ Sigmund Schenkling: Explanation of the scientific beetle names (genus) in detail in the 2nd edition 1922 .
  10. ^ Further publications from Latreille to Byturus : 1802: Histoire Naturelle Crustacés et Insectes, vol. 3 p. 134
    1804: Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, vol 24, 120. Genre preview in the Google book search
    1804: Histoire Naturelle Crustacés et des Insectes, vol. 10 p. 41ff
    1807: Genera Crustaceorum et Insectorum vol. 2 p. 17ff
    1810: Considérations générales ... des Arachnides et des Insectes ..., p. 178
  11. ↑ Herbert Spencer Barber: Raspberry fruitworms and related species United States Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication No. 468 Washington 1942 Preview in Google Book search
  12. ↑ Finnish information sheet
  13. ↑ Identification key of the genus at coleo-net
  14. ↑ Ludwig Redtenbacher: Fauna Austriaca - the beetles I. Volume Vienna 1874 p. 430
  15. ↑ Ludwig Ganglbauer: The Beetles of Central Europe III. Volume Vienna 1899 p. 441
  16. ↑ Distribution map of Fauna Europaea ( memento of the original from April 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.faunaeur.org
  17. ↑ Olle Pellmyr: "Flower Constancy in Individuals of an Anthophilous Beetle Byturus ochraceus (Scriba)" The Coleopterists Bulletin. 39 (4): 341-345, 1985
  18. ↑ Olle Pellmyr: The pollination ecology of Actaea spicata (Ranunculaceae) . In: Nordic Journal of Botany Vol. 4, Issue 4, 443-456 Nov. 1984 doi : 10.1111 / j.1756-1051.1984.tb02044.x