Gloss beetle

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Gloss beetle
Picnic beetle (Glischrochilus quadrisignatus)

Picnic beetle ( Glischrochilus quadrisignatus )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Cucujiformia
Superfamily : Cucujoidea
Family : Gloss beetle
Scientific name
Nitidulidae
Latreille , 1802
Cychramus luteus
Wing of a gloss beetle in the dark field (enlarged 100 times)
Glischrochilus hortensis
Green rapeseed beetle ( Meligethes aeneus )

The gloss beetles (Nitidulidae) are a family of the beetles (Coleoptera). They are distributed worldwide and are known with around 4500 species in 351 genera. In Europe they occur with almost 250 species and subspecies, in Central Europe around 140 to 150 species are known.

features

The beetles are very small with an average body length of two to three millimeters, but some species can be up to six millimeters long. The body shapes of the different species or subfamilies vary greatly. Some have an oval, domed body, others are elongated. They are often light to dark brown, black or shiny black brown. The last two to three antenna segments are thickened in the shape of a club.

Way of life

Both the larvae and the adults inhabit a wide range of different habitats, and their way of life is correspondingly diverse. The larvae are often found together with the adults, or at least they inhabit the same substrate. The animals eat mostly on surfaces, but there are also those who (some Nitidulinae and Cryptarchinae) in fleshy fungi (many Nitidulinae) or rarely in leaves in fermenting liquids minierend (genera Anister , Oxystrongylus and Xenostrongylus eat). The adult beetles generally do not dig, although many are associated with wood and presumably live there under bark or in existing tunnels of wood-boring insects. Those species that live on mushrooms that grow underground are believed to be actively digging. The vast majority of gloss beetles feed on macro- or microscopic fungi that grow on rotting plant material or leaf tissue. Most large groups of mushrooms will be eaten. There are species that feed polyphagous on many different species, others specialize in certain species. Species that specialize in belly mushrooms (Gasteromycetes), such as those of the genera Lycoperdina or Caenocara, are unusual for beetles. Many species, such as some species of the Cryptarchinae, Cillaeinae, Nitidulinae and Calonecrinae, also ingest sap that emerges from wounds. As a result, they are responsible for the transmission of fungal diseases to the plants, since the yeasts and other fermenting fungi they contain are not only absorbed, but also transmitted to other plants. The beetles are also important for the ecology of the soil. Species of the genus Stelidota in particular are often found in large numbers in the forest floor.

It is also known to eat carrion from at least three genera. Species of the genera Nitidula and Omosita can also be found on already heavily decayed and dried-up remains, which is why they are important in forensics , but also in ecology. In the subfamily Meligethinae, in some species of the Cillaeinae and Epuraeinae, as well as in some Nitidulinae, the animals eat living plant material, especially pollen and flowers. Some species that live on plants feed on rust fungi , smut fungi , yeast and other fungi that grow on plant surfaces. But there are also species that feed directly on the plants and their fruits. The genus Carpophilus in particular is one of the fruit-eaters and occurs as a pest in agriculture and also in camps. The very well researched genus Meligethes feeds on cruciferous vegetables (Brassicaceae) , for example . Several species, particularly those of the genus Macrostola , act as pollinators of palms .

The Cybocephalinae and Cychramptodes live predatory on plant lice . On scale insects specialized types a role can play in biological pest control. In the species Amphicrossus japonicus , the eating of mosquito larvae in flooded bamboo stumps has been documented. So far, the species is the only one in which gloss beetles have been detected in an aquatic habitat. The beetles can transport air into the water through hairs on their belly and thus breathe. There are also several species that feed on the larvae of bark beetles (Scolytinae). Whether purely predatory or just optional has not yet been researched. There are a few species that live in the nests of colonizing insects such as ants, termites or honey bees.

The larvae of the gloss beetle hatch from their eggs after one to seven days. The larvae usually develop within one to three weeks and go through two or three stages. The pupal rest lasts five to seven days in multivoltine species, and several months in those that overwinter. Pupation often takes place in the ground.

Occurrence

The ten subfamilies are widespread with the exception of the Maynipeplinae , which occur only in Africa and Calonecrinae , which are only found in Southeast Asia. Six genera are distributed worldwide with the exception of New Zealand, three genera, Carpophilus , Cryptarcha and Epuraea also occur there. The three most species-rich genera, Carpophilus , Epuraea and Meligethes , are mainly found in the Holarctic . The latter genus has a further distribution focus in South Africa. There are 13 known endemic genera in Hawaii . Only Brachypeplus is circumtropically distributed.

Taxonomy and systematics

The gloss beetles belong to the basal families of the Cucujoidea and belong to the families within this group whose taxonomy within the family has so far been poorly researched. This is mainly due to the great variety of body shapes and the subtle variations in characteristics of the subtaxa comprised by the family. The taxonomic position of groups on the fringes of the gloss beetle kinship has been historically controversial and many taxa now seen outside the family were originally assigned to the family by various authors.

The following autapomorphies , according to Leschen et al. (2005) the monophyly of the family: a line is formed at the vertex, the ubantennal pits are widened below or behind the facet eyes, the anterior part of the prosternum is shorter than the prosternal process, the apex of the process has lateral extensions that are indentations of the fore hips usually closed on the outside ( open in the Kateretidae and only some Nitidulidae), the bases of the tegmen are drawn forward, the paramers are fused to a single part and also fused with the phallo-base, the mouthparts of the larvae are strongly retracted, thorns are absent on the hypostoma and two setae are formed on the pretarsi.

The following 10 subfamilies are included in the family:

The earlier subfamily Cybocephalinae is, as some taxonomists suspected for a long time, according to recent molecular results probably not belonging here and possibly not closely related to the Nitidulidae. It is now mostly understood as an independent family Cybocephalidae .

Types (selection)

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Richard AB Leschen, Rolf G. Beutel, John F. Lawrence: Handbuch der Zoologie - Coleoptera, Beetles, Volume 2: Morphology and Systematics (Elateroidea, Bostrichiformia, Cucujiformia partim) . de Gruyter, 2010, ISBN 978-3-11-019075-5 , p. 390 ff . (English).
  2. ↑ Nitidulidae. Fauna Europaea, accessed March 28, 2013 .
  3. ↑ Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe: an identification book for biologists and nature lovers . Parey, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1 , pp. 199 .
  4. ^ Rolf G. Beutel, Richard AB Leschen (editors): Coleoptera, Beetles. Morphology and Systematics, Archostemata, Adephaga, Myxophaga, Polyphaga partim. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / Boston, 2nd edition 2016. ISBN 978-3-11-024906-4 .
  5. ↑ Cline, A R .; Smith, T R .; Miller, K; Moulton, M; Whiting, M; Audisio, P. (2014): Molecular phylogeny of Nitidulidae: assessment of subfamilial and tribal classification and formalization of the family Cybocephalidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea). Systematic Entomology 39 (4): 758-772. doi: 10.1111 / syen.12084

literature

  • Richard AB Leschen, Rolf G. Beutel, John F. Lawrence: Handbuch der Zoologie - Coleoptera, Beetles, Volume 2: Morphology and Systematics (Elateroidea, Bostrichiformia, Cucujiformia partim) . de Gruyter, 2010, ISBN 978-3-11-019075-5 (English).

Web links

Commons : Gloss Beetles (Nitidulidae)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files