Big butterbur weevil
| Big butterbur weevil | ||||||||||||
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Great butterbur weevil ( Liparus glabrirostris ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Liparus glabrirostris | ||||||||||||
| Sexton , 1849 |
The great butterbur weevil ( Liparus glabrirostris ), also known by the synonym great weevil , is a species of the family of the weevils (Curculionidae).
description
The butterbur weevil is 14 to 19 millimeters long, making it the largest weevil native to Central Europe. It has a deep black basic color with yellowish hair spots. The number and arrangement of the cube-shaped scale spots on the wing covers is very variable. The sides of the pronotum also have a yellow, forked (y-shaped) band of yellow scales.
The beetle differs from the related Liparus germanus (German Trägrüssler), which overlaps in size and is quite similar, in the shape of the legs , these are imperforated, in Liparus germanus indistinctly toothed or culled. Further distinguishing features: The base of the pronotum (that is the side facing the elytra ) is straight, not outlined in a flat arc, the pronotum is slightly longer than it is wide, and in Liparus germanus its side band is usually reduced to individual point spots.
The beetle has regressed hind wings and is not capable of flying.
Distribution and way of life
It is a montane to subalpine species that is absent in the plains, it is common up to 2000 meters above sea level. The beetle lives in the mountains and foothills of Central and Southwestern Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Alps to the Carpathians, east to the Ukraine. In Germany it can also be found in the higher elevations of the low mountain ranges, in the Ore Mountains, Thuringian Forest and in the Harz (here both in Lower Saxony and in Saxony-Anhalt, rarely). Imaginal beetles are found from April to August, preferably on the leaves of various butterbur species ( Petasites officinalis, P. albus ), often on the banks of water. The larva lives in the rhizomes of the daisy family, besides butterbur, hogweed ( Heracleum ) species are also given as food plants. The species is common and not endangered in suitable habitats.
Genetic analyzes have shown that the populations of the Alps and the Carpathians are genetically clearly isolated from one another. However, they cannot be distinguished morphologically.
literature
- Jiři Zahradnik: The Cosmos Insect Guide . Franckh-Kosmos Verlag GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-440-09388-3
- Heiko Bellmann: The New Cosmos Insect Guide . Franckh-Kosmos Verlag GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07682-2
- Karl Wilhelm Harde, Frantisek Severa: The Kosmos-Käferführer . The Central European beetle. Kosmos Naturführer, Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-440-04881-0
Individual evidence
- ↑ Liparus determination table in Arved Lompe: Beetles of Europe. Version dated January 1, 2009.
- ↑ Edmund Reitter: The Liparus species from Europe and the adjacent areas. (Col. Curcul.). Wiener Entomologische Zeitung 40 (1): 42-48. PDF
- ↑ M. Mitrović1, Ž. Tomanović, M. Jakovljević, D. Radović, J. Havelka, P. Stary (2016): Genetic differentiation of Liparus glabrirostris (Curculionidae: Molytinae) populations from the fragmented habitats of the Alps and Carpathian Mountains. Bulletin of Entomological Research 2016, 12 pages doi : 10.1017 / S0007485316000377
Web links
- Liparus glabrirostris at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved March 14, 2016