Big dead beetle
| Big dead beetle | ||||||||||||
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Large dead beetle ( Blaps mortisaga ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Blaps mortisaga | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The big dead beetle ( Blaps mortisaga ) is a beetle from the family of the black beetle (Tenebrionidae). He is also called the announcer of the dead and was seen as a harbinger of coming disaster. This explains the species name given by Linnaeus mortisaga (fortune telling death).
Description of the beetle
The beetles are 20 to 31 millimeters long. They are black all over and have a dull sheen.
The head is broad, but much narrower than the pronotum and elytra . It is constricted behind the eyes. As with all black beetles, the deflection of the antennae on the head is not visible from above because it is covered by the edge-shaped extensions of the cheeks. This widening of the head edge narrows the narrow compound eyes , which extend from the top of the head to the bottom of the head, slightly at the front. The antennae are string-shaped and eleven-limbed, the third antennae is over twice as long as the following. The last four antenna elements are rounded and matt, the previous four longer, matt and trapezoidal.
The pronotum is flat, finely edged and wider than it is long. It is irregular and slightly less coarsely dotted than the elytra.
The wing covers run laterally to the underside of the body, where they form a wide strip (false epipleurs) separated by a fine strip, followed by a narrow strip (real epipleurs). On the upper side the elytra are indistinctly grooved and punctured irregularly. They are drawn out into a blunt point (mucro) towards the rear.
The legs are long and strong. All hips are rounded and clearly separated from each other. The tarsi of the hind legs are four-limbed, the remaining five-limbed (tarsi formula 5-5-4). On the inner edge of the front rails there are two terminal spikes of approximately the same length.
Five parts of the abdomen ( abdominal sternites ) are visible on the underside of the body . The first three cannot move against each other, between the second and third there is a brush stain made of golden-yellow hair on the males (Fig. 1), which is interpreted as a scent device to attract the females. Between the third and fourth sternite the abdomen is mobile, and between the fourth and fifth sternite there is a shiny skin in the middle area.
The large dead beetle differs from the other species of the genus Blaps in that the wing cover is elongated in both sexes and the body is elongated with fairly parallel sides. The pronotum is hardly wider than it is long. The membrane between the claws (onychium) is not pointed triangular and not truncated, but rounded triangular. The fall of the wing covers backwards is steeper in the males, less steep in the females.
Description of the larva
The rusty brown larva has three pairs of legs, is turning round and has a hard exoskeleton as exoskeleton . It is similar to the wireworms of the click beetles , but in contrast to these, the first pair of legs is significantly longer than the others. The last segment of the body is triangular and has a short pointed outgrowth.
Similar species
According to Freude-Harde-Lohse, Blaps milleri and Blaps reflexicollis belong to the species Blaps lethifera, according to the Fauna Europaea, Blaps milleri is listed as a separate species; in 1978, Picka describes B. abdita from the lethifera relationship as a new species.
- Blaps lethifera Marsham, 1802
Occurrence
The beetles, which are very widespread throughout Europe, are among the culture successors . They live almost exclusively in human settlements and there mainly in dark places in cellars, stables, barns or warehouses (synanthropic). In the wild, they occur in the structures of various mammals.
In the literature, the beetle is described as most common in all of Europe . In view of the increasing hygienic and sanitary standards, it is to be expected that the synanthropic animal will become increasingly rare.
Way of life
The eggs are laid one by one. They have a sticky surface to which particles from the substrate on which they were placed immediately adhere. The larval development includes ten to thirteen moults, depending on the food supply and food quality, and takes up to two years. The larva is like the adult animal omnivorous (omnivorous) and adheres to the same places like this. The species is the only species in the genus that has a preference for moist surroundings; it occurs mainly in damp cellars and outbuildings.
The nocturnal beetles hide in dark cracks during the day. At night they go looking for food. They feed on organic waste, decaying plant parts, old wood, tree sponges, dead insects, carrion and excrement. They therefore play an important role in the breakdown of such substances. The species cannot be described as a storage pest, at most it becomes unpleasant and annoying when it reproduces too much. The beetle lives for several years and can also easily be kept in captivity. In case of danger he freezes with his legs outstretched (thanatose) and secretes a foul-smelling defense secretion at the end of the abdomen to deter the enemy . This has an extremely lasting effect, as it only decomposes slowly, so that Blaps has practically no enemies in nature.
credentials
- ↑ Sigmund Schenkling: Explanation of the scientific beetle names (species)
- ↑ H. Freude, KW Harde, GA Lohse: Die Käfer Mitteleuropas, Vol. 8, P. 240 . Spectrum Academic Publishing House in Elsevier 1966, ISBN 3-827-40683-8
- ↑ Fauna Europaea, Blaps milleri as a species
- ↑ Jiři Zahradník, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Käfer Central and Northwest Europe , Parey Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1
literature
- Harde, Severa: Der Kosmos Käferführer, The Central European Beetles , Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-06959-1
- H. Joy, KW Harde, GA Lohse: Die Käfer Mitteleuropas, Vol. 8 . Spectrum Academic Publishing House in Elsevier 1966, ISBN 3-827-40683-8
- Adolf Horion : Beetle science for nature lovers . Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1949
- Pocket Atlas of Beetles . Publishing house Dausien, Hanau / M
- Gründ > Svatopluk Bílý: Coléoptères, adaptation française Verlag Gründ 1990; ISBN 2-7000-1824-9
