Pytho depressus
| Pytho depressus | ||||||||||||
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Pytho depressus |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pytho depressus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1767) |
Pytho depressus is a beetle fromthe dragon beetle family (Pythidae).
features
The beetles are 7.5 to 16 millimeters long. Their bodies are flattened and shiny steel-blue to purple, more rarely also rust-red in color. Young animals are light brown in color. The antennae and legs are russet. The upper lip ( labrum ) is three times as long as it is wide and straight in front. The mandibles are roughly dotted and circular at the tip. The pronotum is widest in the front third and tapers at the base. There is a small indentation in the middle and a larger indentation on both sides. The deck wings (elytres) are slightly widened at the rear. The abdomen is reddish in color. The species can be confused with Pytho abieticola . However, this species is black-brown in color, has an upper lip that is only 2.5 times as long as it is wide, and the pronotum has its widest point in the middle and is tapered in front and behind. The species can also be confused with Pytho kolwensis from Northern Europe; However, this species has mandibles with angled tips and a pronotum that tapers in front of the base and is also finely edged in front.
Occurrence and way of life
The species is widespread in Europe up to the far north and is also found in the Caucasus and east to Siberia. The species occurs locally in Scotland. It inhabits forests from the plains to heights of 2200 meters in the Alps. Similar to those of the genus Pyrochroa (family of fire beetles ), the larvae live directly under the bark of dry, dead pine trees and make their pupa cradle from wood splinters. You prefer softwood, such as B. Pine and Spruce.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Georg Möller, Reiner Grube, Ekkehard Wachmann : The Fauna Käferführer I - Beetles in and on the forest . Fauna-Verlag, Nottuln 2006, ISBN 3-935980-25-6 , p. 154 .
- ↑ a b c Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe: an identification book for biologists and nature lovers . Parey, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1 , pp. 236 .
literature
- Georg Möller, Reiner Grube, Ekkehard Wachmann : The Fauna Käferführer I - Beetles in and on the forest . Fauna-Verlag, Nottuln 2006, ISBN 3-935980-25-6 , p. 154 .
- Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Beetles of Central and Northwestern Europe: an identification book for biologists and nature lovers . Parey, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1 , pp. 236 .
