Common unicorn beetle

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Common unicorn beetle
Common unicorn beetle (Notoxus monoceros)

Common unicorn beetle ( Notoxus monoceros )

Systematics
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Family : Flower mole beetle (Anthicidae)
Subfamily : Anthicinae
Genre : Notoxus
Type : Common unicorn beetle
Scientific name
Notoxus monoceros
( Linnaeus , 1760)
Common unicorn beetle on raspberry leaf (video, 1m 29s)

The common unicorn beetle ( Notoxus monoceros ) is a beetle from the family of the flower sap beetle (Anthicidae).

features

The beetles are 3.7 to 5.5 millimeters long. They look like ants and are hairy. A very small head sits on the spherical pronotum, which runs towards a horn. The body is drawn in black and yellow and has a black transverse band that is connected to the black seam between the wing covers and the black patch on the shield. The elytra are covered with numerous long, protruding hairs between the adjacent light basic hair. The beetles have long, thin antennae that are slightly thicker at the tip . The underside of the body is yellowish.

Common unicorn beetle ( Notoxus monoceros )

Subspecies

  • Notoxus monoceros elongatus La Ferté-Sénectère , 1849
  • Notoxus monoceros monoceros ( Linnaeus , 1768)

Similar species

  • Notoxus brachcerus ( Faldermann , 1837). Lower abdomen black.

Synonyms

  • Notoxus biinterruptus Pic , 1900

Occurrence

In Europe, the beetles can be found on dry terrain such as meadows, slopes and sandy areas from the lowlands to low mountain ranges. In the north the distribution area extends to central Norway and Sweden , as well as to the north of Finland . The common unicorn beetle is only found locally in England and Scotland . The species is absent in the Mediterranean.

Way of life

The common unicorn beetle loves warmth and is attracted by dead oil beetles , from which it is said to gain cantharidin . It is said to also accrue live oil beetles. The species is found in Central Europe in June, July and August on bushes and flowers. The larvae live in decaying plant material in the upper soil layers of meadows and fields.

credentials

  1. ↑ Notoxus monoceros elongatus La Ferté-Sénectère 1849. Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19 , 2007 , accessed on July 18, 2007 .
  2. ↑ Notoxus monoceros monoceros (Linnaeus 1760). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on July 18, 2007 .
  3. ↑ Jiři Zahradník, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Käfer Central and Northwestern Europe: Parey Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1 .
  4. ↑ Notoxus monoceros (Linnaeus 1760). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on July 18, 2007 .

literature

  • Edmund Reitter : Fauna Germanica - The beetles of the German Empire. Volume 3, KG Lutz, Stuttgart 1911.
  • Edmund Reitter: Fauna Germanica - The beetles of the German Empire. 5 volumes, Stuttgart KG Lutz 1908 - 1916, digital library volume 134, Directmedia Publishing GmbH, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89853-534-7 .
  • Karel Hurka: "Beetles of the Czech and Slovak Republics" bilingual volume, Nakladatelstvi KABOUREK, Zlín 2005, ISBN 80-86447-04-9 .

Web links

Commons : Common unicorn beetle ( Notoxus monoceros )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files