Melolonthinae
| Melolonthinae | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Melolonthinae | ||||||||||||
| Macleay , 1819 |
_w_3.jpg)
The Melolonthinae are a subfamily of the scarab beetles .
features
Melolonthinae are adults between 3 and 60 millimeters long. They are usually reddish brown to black in color, some species have a bluish or greenish metallic sheen, a conspicuous scale pattern or are densely hairy. The head is usually unarmed without horn-like appendages, and the pronotum never has horns either. The mandibles are usually well developed, obscured and not visible when viewed from above. The deflection point of the antennas is also not visible when viewed from above. The antennae are seven to ten segments (exceptionally eleven), their three to seven outer limbs are widened into a smooth, hairless or slightly hairy leaf lobe, in that the limbs carry a one-sided, lamellar extension. The leaves of the club can be laid together to form a closed outline. The scutellum is exposed and visible. The claw links of the middle and hind legs are almost always modified, they can be split lengthways or toothed simply or in a comb shape. Both claws of the hind legs are the same length, rarely only one claw is present (difference to the Rutelinae ). The stigmas of the abdomen are usually pronounced on segments one to seven (less often some reduced), they are usually located in the lateral membranes between tergites and sternites ("pleurosticti"), a pair is usually exposed and not covered by the elytra . Five or six sternites are usually visible on the abdomen (those of the first two segments are hidden or receded), they are usually fused with one another, but sutures are usually still visible on the sides. The sixth sternite can be drawn into the abdomen and covered by the fifth. The sternites of the abdomen are about the same width over the entire width and are not narrowed along the central axis (as in the Scarabaeinae ). The sexual dimorphism between the sexes is usually not very pronounced, males can differ in the shape of the abdomen and have longer tarsal links or lobe links of the antennae.
Biology and way of life
Both adults and larvae of almost all species are herbivores . In some species the adults do not take up any more food. Most larvae live underground and feed on roots. For example, adults feed on the leaves of deciduous trees (where they can cause baldness), a number of species are flower visitors and eat pollen. These are often diurnal, while all other groups are predominantly nocturnal.
Melolonthinae and human
Some Melolonthinae like the cockchafer or the ribbed curl beetle are important representatives in literature and folk culture.
Economic importance
Various representatives of the subfamily are economically important pests. Examples are the genus Phyllophaga in North America or the cockchafer (genus Melolontha ) in Europe.
Systematics
The Melolonthinae are the most species-rich subfamily of the Scarabaeidae. They include around 11,000 species in 750 genera worldwide (as of 1992), with numerous still undescribed species, especially in the tropics, being assumed.
The subfamily has not been comprehensively processed (revised) taxonomically for a long time; a current phylogenomic investigation (investigations of the relationships based on the comparison of homologous DNA sequences) could not confirm its monophyly. The Melolonthinae are circumscribed and delimited differently by different authors, and there is also no consensus on their rank (as a family or subfamily).
According to previous knowledge, the Melolonthinae belong to a species-rich clade of predominantly herbivorous Scarabaeoidea, which the older authors, following Wilhelm Ferdinand Erichson , called “Pleurosticti” (after the location of the stigmata on the abdomen ) and is related to the Rutelinae , Dynastinae and Cetoniinae . This was also confirmed by the molecular analyzes, which, however , could not confirm the monophyly of the Melolonthinae or even provide indications of their paraphyly . Although there is agreement on the general classification, the delimitation in detail is confused.
The following division into tribes is based on Patrice Bouchard and colleagues and currently comes closest to a consensus (as of 2015). However, numerous authors have different views. The system must be revised based on the latest findings, so that numerous changes can be expected here in the future.
|
|
Types (selection)
- Amphimallon solstitiale - Ribbed curl beetle
- Anoxia orientalis
- Anoxia villosa
- Aplidia transversa
- Maladera holosericea - Dark silk beetle
- Melolontha hippocastani - forest cockchafer
- Melolontha melolontha - Cockchafer
- Polyphylla fullo - Walker
- Rhizotrogus aestivus - yellow-brown curl beetle
- Rhizotrogus marginipes
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Richard AB Leschen, Rolf G. Beutel: Handbuch der Zoologie - Coleoptera, Beetles. Volume 1: Morphology and Systematics. Verlag Walter de Gruyter, 2005, ISBN 3-11-017130-9 .
- ↑ Arthur V. Evans: Melolonthinae. in Ross H. Arnett, Jr., Michael C. Thomas, Paul E. Skelley, J. Howard Frank: American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. CRC Press, 2002. ISBN 978-1-4200-4123-1 pp. 51-60.
- ↑ John Lawrence, Adam Slipinski: Australian Beetles Volume 1: Morphology, Classification and Keys. Csiro Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-0-643-09729-2 Family Scarabaeidae p. 204.
- ↑ a b Dirk Ahrens, Julia Schwarzer, Alfried P. Vogler (2014): The evolution of scarab beetles tracks the sequential rise of angiosperms and mammals. Proceedings of the Royal Society London Series B 281: 20141470. doi: 10.1098 / rspb.2014.1470
- ^ A b Andrew BT Smith, David C. Hawks, John M. Heraty (2006): An overview of the classification and evolution of the major Scarab beetle clades (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) based on preliminary molecular analyzes. Papers in Entomology. Paper 121. download from Entomology Commons ; see. z. B. Andrew BT Smith (2006): A review of the family-group names for the superfamily Scarabaeoidea (Coleoptera) with corrections to nomenclature and a current classification. Papers in Entomology. Paper 122. download from Entomology Commons
- ↑ Patrice Bouchard, Yves Bousquet, Anthony E. Davies, Miguel A. Alonso- Zarazaga, John F. Lawrence, Chris HC Lyal, Alfred F. Newton, Chris AM Reid, Michael Schmitt, S. Adam Ślipiński, Andrew BT Smith (2011 ): Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta). ZooKeys 88: 1-972. doi: 10.3897 / zookeys.88.807
Web links
- Melolonthidae in European beetles. Determination table, published by Arved Lompe, accessed on October 14, 2015
- Melolonthinae in Generic Guide to New World Scarab Beetles, published by Arthur V. Evans, accessed on October 14, 2015 (text based on American Beetles Vol. II, the key itself is still missing)