Gold dust tree beetle
| Gold dust tree beetle | ||||||||||||
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Gold dust tree beetle Hoplia argentea |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hoplia argentea | ||||||||||||
| ( Poda , 1761) |
The gold dust leaf beetle ( Hoplia argentea ), also known by the synonyms silvery somersault and mealy leaf beetle , is a beetle from the scarab beetle family .
features
Gold dust tree beetles grow to be about an inch long. They are easily recognizable by their dense scales, which have a silvery yellowish or greenish, sometimes brownish shimmer like dusted with shiny powder.
Systematics
The gold dust tree beetle was first described in 1761 by the Jesuit, mathematician and entomologist Nicolaus Poda von Neuhaus as Scarabaeus argentea in his work Insecta Musei Graecensis . This was the first purely entomological book to use Linnaeus' nomenclature. The synonym Hoplia farinosa Linnaeus, 1761 is therefore not a valid name. The genus Hoplia belongs to the subfamily of the Rutelinae, which has recently been recognized by some entomologists as a separate family Rutelidae.
distribution
The beetles are common in the Alpine and foothills of the Alps. A distribution map can be found in Fauna Europaea. The beetles prefer open landscapes with woods, parks, mixed forests, overgrown gardens, forest edges and meadows. During the day they hide under tufts of grass or in the leaves.
Way of life
At dusk they go looking for a partner. Orientation takes place via the sense of smell. The beetles feed on pollen. The larvae belong to the group of grubs and feed on plant roots. They do not cause any damage. The generation period is 2 years.
Colours
The scales create interference colors (like butterflies). Rücker measured the reflection of sunlight in the wavelength range of 430–700 nm on gold dust leaf beetles . Of all the insects measured, the gold dust leaf beetle showed the highest total reflection: its back armor reflects 38.1% of the sunlight.
Individual evidence
- ^ Arthropoda. Retrieved February 23, 2019 .
- ↑ Heiko Bellmann: The New Cosmos Insect Guide . Franckh-Kosmos Verlag GmbH & Co., Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-440-07682-2 , p. 176-177 .
- ↑ Hoplia argentea (Poda 1761). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on July 13, 2007 .
- ^ Pflüger's archive, Volume 231, 1933, pp. 729-741
literature
- Franz Rücker: The colors of insects and their meaning for the heat balance , in Pflüger's archive for the entire physiology of humans and animals , Springer Vienna 1933, Volume 231, pp. 729-741. ISSN 0031-6768 (Internet full version of Rücker's work doi: 10.1007 / BF01754587 )
