Russian rottenwood beetle
| Russian rottenwood beetle | ||||||||||||
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Russian rotterwood beetle ( Triplax russica ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Triplax russica | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Russian rotterwood beetle ( Triplax russica ) is a beetle from the family Erotylidae.
features
Russian rotterwood beetles grow to be 5 to 6.5 millimeters long. The elytra with their black color contrasts with the head, thorax and legs, which are colored yellow-red. The body shape is oval and slightly arched upwards. Overall, the chitin carapace is very smooth, but longitudinal rows of dots can be seen faintly on the wing covers. The dark brown antennae are quite long and thicken to a club at the end. The third antenna element is longer than the second. The underside of the middle and rear breast is black, the other parts orange-yellow (picture).
Similar species
- Triplax aenea (Schaller, 1783). Wing-coverts metallic blue or green, underside orange-yellow
Synonyms
- Silpha castanea Marsham, 1802
- Triplax flavoscutellata Roubal, 1934
- Ips nigripennis Fabricius, 1793
- Tritoma nigripennis Latreille, 1804
- Chrysomela palliata Schranck, 1798
- Anthribus rubra De Geer, 1775
Occurrence
The animals are in Europe very widespread and inhabit deciduous forests . In southern Europe they live in mountainous regions. Outside Europe, the species is found in North Africa ( Algeria ) and in the Caucasus .
Way of life
They are very dependent on the availability of their food, which consists largely of tree sponges . You can find these mushrooms mainly on maple , birch , beech and fruit trees. Molds , which the beetles find under rotting bark, form another part of their diet . By breaking down such organisms, they play an important role in the forest. The larvae also live in and on tree sponges. After several moults, they pupate in the ground. The finished beetle hatches from the pupa.
credentials
- ↑ a b c d e f Triplax russica (Linnaeus 1758). Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007, accessed July 16, 2007 .
- ↑ Jiři Zahradník, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Käfer Central and Northwest Europe , Parey Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1
literature
- Edmund Reitter : Fauna Germanica - The beetles of the German Empire. Volume 3, KG Lutz, Stuttgart 1911
- Edmund Reitter: Fauna Germanica - The beetles of the German Empire. 5 volumes, Stuttgart KG Lutz 1908–1916, digital library volume 134, Directmedia Publishing GmbH, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-898-53534-7
