Nicrophorus germanicus
| Nicrophorus germanicus | ||||||||||||
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Nicrophorus germanicus |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Nicrophorus germanicus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
Nicrophorus germanicus is a species of beetle nativeto Eurasia . It is the largest European species from the genus of the gravedigger ( Nicrophorus ).
features
Nicrophorus germanicus reaches a body length of 20 to 30 millimeters and is one of the largest beetle species in Europe. His body, particularly the deck wings ( elytra ) and the neck plate is colored black as a rule; very rare varieties have one or two blood-red spots on the wings, at the tip and in front of the middle, which can also be united in transverse bands. As with all types of gravedigger, its wings are trimmed. Their epipleurs are brownish red and the head shield membrane reddish. This distinguishes it from the similar black gravedigger ( Nicrophorus humator ), whose epipleurs are black. Other features that Nicrophorus germanicus shares with the Asian species Nicrophorus morio and Nicrophorus satanas are the widened tibiae of the middle legs, the broad antenna lobe and the shape of the last segment of the abdomen, which is about half as long as it is wide. Nicrophorus germanicus can be distinguished from the two species mainly by the color and bristling of the epipleurs.
Similar species
- Black gravedigger ( Nicrophorus humator )
- Nicrophorus morio
- Nicrophorus satanas
distribution
The beetle is common in large parts of Europe and northern Asia. The distribution area extends from southern Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, France and northern Italy through central and eastern Europe to central Russia (to the Urals ), Turkey, Georgia and Armenia.
Way of life
Like all grave diggers, this type of carrion lives and uses carcasses that are buried by it as an egg-laying place. It is Nicrophorus germanicus commonly found on larger carcasses, such as rats or rabbits.
literature
- Edmund Reitter: Fauna Germanica. The beetles of the German Empire. 2nd volume, KG Lutz, Stuttgart 1911; Page 239
Web links
- Identification key on Nicrophorus Central ( Memento from April 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- Nicrophorus germanicus at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 18, 2011