Prodontria lewisi
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| Broun , 1904 |
Prodontria Lewisi (English common name: Cromwell Chafer or Cromwell Chafer Beetle ) is a flightless beetles from the family of scarab beetles (Scarabaeidae). It is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand and only occurs there in the area around Cromwell in the Otago region.
features
When fully grown, the beetle is 15-16 millimeters long and 8.5 millimeters wide. The females are longer and wider than the males , but have slightly shorter front and rear legs. The wings are strongly arched, grooved lengthways and pale reddish-brown in color.
distribution
The beetle was first detected in 1904 by entomologist ( entomologist ) Thomas Broun (1838-1919) in the area in and around Cromwell. It is believed that Prodontria lewisi arose from a small founder population that was isolated in the Cromwell Basin during the Pleistocene period . It is believed that before the Europeans settled New Zealand, the beetle's habitat comprised around 500 hectares , but has now shrunk to less than 100 hectares as a result of intensified land use and land consumption . After the public was made aware of the threat to the species through newspaper and television reports in 1977, a discussion began that in 1979 led to the Cromwell City Council proving and fencing a reservation . In 1983, 81 hectares of this area were designated under the Reserves Act (1977) as a protected area for the endangered beetle. Since 1997 the beetle has also been listed as an endangered species on the Red List .
Way of life and behavior
The beetle's habitat is the sand and dune areas of the Cromwell Plain, which is made up of patchy vegetation made up of common beach grass ( Ammophila arenaria ), shrub lupine ( Lupinus arboreus ), Monterey pine ( Pinus radiata ) and silver pillows ( Raoulia australis ) resistant upholstery plant . The dominant grass species Poa laevis belongs to the tussock grass type .
During the day, Prodontria lewisi retreats up to 50 cm deep into the damp sand, often hidden in the roots of Poa laevis or Raoulia australis . The latter is also its main food plant. Shortly after dusk it leaves its day quarters to eat. Prodontria lewisi is particularly active in warm and humid weather , while it usually remains in its hiding place at temperatures below 6 ° C. When looking for a partner, the males are the active ones and make the choice for the right female. The females lay their eggs on the roots of the tussock grass, on which the larvae later feed.
Little is known about the biology of Prodontria lewisi , which is why Ferreira and McKinlay made suggestions for further research in 1999 on behalf of the Department of Conservation.
Natural enemies
In addition to humans , almost without exception animal species introduced by Europeans are among the enemies of Prodontria lewisi . These include, for example, the brown-breasted hedgehog ( Erinaceus europaeus ). Originally it was settled in New Zealand because it was supposed to contain the introduced and uncontrollably multiplying snails . Three bird species imported from Europe also contribute to the endangerment of the beetle: blackbird ( Turdus merula ), song thrush ( Turdus philomelos ) and especially the little owl ( Athene noctua ). This was actually supposed to decimate the European songbirds that attack the orchards at harvest time . The little owl feeds about 10 percent on Prodontria lewisi . Native animals or parasites that could damage the beetle population are not known except for the spider species Porrhothele antipodiana . The species known in New Zealand as the "Black Tunnelweb Spider" served as inspiration for the look of Shelob in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings .
literature
- JC Watt: Conservation of the Cromwell Chafer Prodontria lewisi (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) , New Zealand Journal of Ecology, Vol. 2, 1979.
- SM Ferreira, NOM Ravenscroft, B. McKinlay: Activity patterns and population characteristics of the New Zealand endemic Cromwell chafer, Prodontria lewisi (Scarabaeidae; Melolonthinae) , New Zealand Journal of Zoology, Vol. 26, p229-241, 1999.
- Sam M. Ferreira, Bruce McKinlay: Conservation monitoring of the Cromwell chafer beetle (Prodontria lewisi) between 1986 and 1997 , Department of Conservation, Wellington 1999, ISBN 0-478-21849-4
Web links
- Cromwell chafer beetle . Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand,accessed September 5, 2014.
- Cromwell chafer beetle . Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, archived from the original onOctober 15, 2007; Retrieved on September 5, 2014(English, original website no longer available, original website with different photos).
- Prodontria lewisi inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: World Conservation Monitoring Center, 1996. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Family: Scarabaeidae - Common name: Scarab beetles, dung beetles, chafer beetles . (PDF 949 kB) Department of Conservation , archived from the original on February 2, 2012 ; accessed on January 15, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).
- ↑ SM Ferreira, NOM Ravenscroft, B. McKinlay: Activity patterns and population characteristics of the New Zealand endemic Cromwell chafer, Prodontria lewisi (Scarabaeidae; Melolonthinae) , New Zealand Journal of Zoology, Vol. 26, p229-241, 1999.
- ^ A b The State of Our Invertebrate Animals . Ministry for the Environment , accessed May 6, 2019 .
- ↑ Black Tunnelweb Spider - Image Gallery from Rob Suisted