Ochodaeidae

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Ochodaeidae
A species of the genus Ochodaeus

A species of the genus Ochodaeus

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Scarabaeiformia
Superfamily : Scarabaeoidea
Family : Ochodaeidae
Scientific name
Ochodaeidae
Mulsant & Rey , 1871
Ochodaeus chrysomeloides
Codocera ferruginea

The Ochodaeidae are a family of beetles (Coleoptera) from the superfamily Scarabaeoidea . The family is spread almost worldwide and is only absent in Australia and New Zealand. It includes two subfamilies with 10 genera and about 80 species. The main focus of the distribution is in the Holarctic , southern Africa and Madagascar. So far eleven species have been identified in Europe.

features

Beetle

The beetles are 3 to 10 millimeters long and have an elongated and convex physique. They are colored yellow, brown, red-brown or black, some species are also provided with two of these colors. The head is not pointing downwards. The compound eyes are undivided, their ommatidia are fully developed (eucon). The frontal plate ( clypeus ) is either normally developed or has tubercles at the front edge. The labrum is noticeable, extended beyond the edge of the frontal plate and often has a double lobe and is indented. The epipharynx is variable and either has a rounded tip, is square, notched or has a double lobe, with a fringe of loosely or densely arranged, fine or strong bristles. Most of the basal taxa of the family have ridges on the sides. The antennae are usually ten-part and have three-part wedges. Only in the Chaetocanthini are they nine-parted. The mouthparts are designed to be very variable. The sclerotized , pointed mandibles are prominent and extend beyond the apex of the labrum. The maxillary palps are usually four-membered, in the genera Namibiotalpa and Codocera and some species of the genus Ochodaeus they are five-membered. The labial palps are usually four-limbed, with Ochodaeus and Odontochodaeus they only have three limbs.

The pronotum is convex, almost square and usually structured like points, as well as hairy or smooth. On the rails ( tibia ) of the middle legs there is a single combed (pectinater) or rounded combed (crenulater) spur. An empodium is missing. The wings (elytres) are convex and can have longitudinal grooves in some species. They are often structured in dots or granular and hairy, sometimes smooth. The stigmas on the abdomen are all functional. The first through sixth are located in the pleural membranes, the seventh and eighth on the tergite .

Larvae

The larvae are known to this day only from Pseudochodaeus estriatus , the larva of which was described in a paper by Carlson & Ritcher from 1974. It has a C-shaped curved body that is whitish in color with the exception of the end of the abdomen. The antennae are four-parted, and sense organs are formed on their last two parts. Point eyes ( Ocelli ) are missing. The frontoclypeal suture has receded. The tormae of the epipharynx are fused and symmetrical. The Galea and Lacinia are clearly separated from each other. The maxillary palps are tripartite, stridulation organs are formed on them as well as on the mandibles. The legs are well developed and have five limbs. They have two strong, bristle claws and they lack stridulation organs. The spiracles are sieve-shaped (cribriform).

Way of life

Little is known about the way of life of the Ochodaeidae. The adults are usually found when approaching artificial light sources, especially in semi-arid , sandy areas. A few species are known to be diurnal. The species with distribution in the New World develop in detritus in the nests of leaf cutter ants of the genus Atta . There is a speculation by Woodruff in a work from 1973 that the adults hide in hiding places underground during the day and that they eat mushrooms. Spores of mushroom mushrooms have been found in at least one species in the digestive tract. This led to the assumption of Lawrence et al. from 1999 that both the beetles and the larvae feed on the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms that grow underground.

Taxonomy and systematics

Lawrence & Newton suggested in a paper from 1982 that the Ochodaeidae are closely related to the Hybosoridae and Ceratocanthidae . Since then, this hypothesis has been confirmed several times and is also confirmed by Beutel & Leschen (2005). The Ochodaeidae differ from these close relatives in the absence of canthus on the compound eyes, the formation of two pairs of spiracles on the abdomen on the tergites and the absence of stridulation organs on the legs of the larvae. The formation of a single combed (pectinate) or rounded combed (crenulate) spur on the rails of the middle legs is the reason for the family's monophyly .

The following overview lists the subfamilies including genera, as well as the European species:

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Rolf G. Beutel, Richard AB Leschen: Handbuch der Zoologie - Coleoptera, Beetles, Volume 1: Morphology and Systematics (Archostemata, Adephaga, Myxophaga, Polyphaga partim) . 1st edition. de Gruyter , 2005, ISBN 3-11-017130-9 , p. 379 f . (English).
  2. ↑ a b Ochodaeidae. Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on August 1, 2012 .

literature

  • Rolf G. Beutel, Richard AB Leschen: Handbuch der Zoologie - Coleoptera, Beetles, Volume 1: Morphology and Systematics (Archostemata, Adephaga, Myxophaga, Polyphaga partim) . 1st edition. de Gruyter , 2005, ISBN 3-11-017130-9 (English).

Web links

Commons : Ochodaeidae  - collection of images, videos and audio files