Schröter (beetle)

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Schröter
Stag beetle (Lucanus cervus), male

Stag beetle ( Lucanus cervus ), male

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Beetle (Coleoptera)
Subordination : Polyphaga
Partial order : Scarabaeiformia
Superfamily : Scarabaeoidea
Family : Schröter
Scientific name
Lucanidae
Latreille , 1804
Odontolabis sommeri from Indonesia
Phalacrognathus muelleri from Australia
Mitophyllus parrianus from New Zealand

The Schröter (Lucanidae) are a family of beetles (Coleoptera) from the superfamily Scarabaeoidea . The family occurs worldwide and includes about 1300 species in about 110 genera . Many species show a pronounced sexual dimorphism : the males of these species, in contrast to the females, have large and strongly toothed mandibles . The number of subfamilies is controversial. 14 species from 6 genera have been recorded in Europe and 7 species in Central Europe. There are 39 species in New Zealand, 35 of which are endemic from 5 endemic genera, as well as 4 neozoa , 3 of them from Australia and one from Taiwan.

features

Beetle

The beetles are 8.0 to 90.0 millimeters long. Their body is rather elongated and usually slightly convex, slightly flattened or cylindrical. Their color ranges from brick red to reddish brown to black, but some species are brightly colored. The mouthparts are directed forward, the head is not bent down. The compound eyes are not, partially or completely separated from the canthus. The ommatidia are fully developed (eucon), or they lack the crystal cone (acon). The antennae are kneeled or straight and usually have 10 links. They have a three- to seven-limbed club with relatively thick, flattened limbs. The individual links of the club cannot be placed close together. The mandibles are designed differently in males and females and are larger in males. The maxilla either has a lobed galea and the lacinia has receded, or it ends in a single tooth (male). The maxillary palps are four-limbed, the labial palps are three- or four-limbed. The empodium is big. On the wings, the wing vein 2Ax has several unique features. The abdomen has five visible ventrites (visible abdominal sclerites ). The spiracles on the abdomen are located in the pleural membranes. Those of the first to eighth abdominal segments are functional. In the females, the tergites , pleurites and sternites of the ninth abdominal segment are recognizable as separate sclerotized areas.

Larvae

The body of the larvae is broadly C-shaped. The thoracic and abdominal segments are not divided dorsally with folds. The cranium is asymmetrical, the right side is significantly larger than the left. The frontoclypeal suture can be seen between the dorsal mandible articulations. Point eyes ( ocelli ) are usually missing. The antennae are three- or four-membered and do not have a large sensory mark on the tip. The mandibles have a large process ventrally . The Galea is clearly separated from the Lacinia. The first two limbs of the maxillary palps have a membranous spot. On the middle and rear legs there is an organ for making sounds. The hind legs are not shortened. The claws have two, four or more bristles. The larvae of the subfamily Penichrolucaninae are still unknown.

Way of life

The beetles usually live on rotting wood or dead wood, both in coniferous and deciduous forests. The larvae can be found in dead wood, often together with the adult animals. Only the larvae of the genus Colophon live in the ground and apparently feed on humus and roots. In some species the adults are attracted by artificial light sources. In many species, the adults are wingless and probably do not eat at all. Otherwise, the animals occasionally visit flowers or wounds on trees where the sap leaks. The larvae can stridulate . The subfamily Penichrolucaninae is the only one of which the way of life of the animals is completely unknown. It is believed that the animals develop in association with either ants or termites.

Taxonomy and systematics

The family is described by Beutel & Leschen after Lawrence et al. divided into six subfamilies. Howden assumes that it is closely related to the sugar beetles (Passalidae), whereas Caveney suspects a relationship with the Diphyllostomatidae due to the similar structure of the ommatidia . However, features on the wings suggest that, according to Howden's conjecture, the family split off from the sugar beetles early on and developed separately from them.

The monophyly of the family is justified in the adults by some derived features at the base of the wing, the separated mentum and prementum, the developed ligula and the pierced tentorium . Autapomorphies of the larvae are the straight thorax viewed from the side and the C-shaped abdomen, the asymmetrical cranium in which the right side is significantly larger, the lack of stridulation teeth on the stipes , the membranous, round spots dorsally on the palpifer and the basal palpomer of the maxilla and the organ on the middle and rear legs.

The following overview lists all subfamilies as well as the European species:

Non-European species (selection)

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Beverley A. Holloway: Lucanidae (Insecta: Coleoptera). (PDF) In: Fauna of New Zealand 61, 2007, p. 5.
  2. ↑ 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. 367 ff . (English).
  3. ↑ a b Lucanidae. Fauna Europaea, April 19, 2007 , accessed August 6, 2012 .
  4. ↑ Fritz Brechtel, Hans Kostenbader (ed.): The splendor and stag beetles of Baden-Württemberg . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 2002, ISBN 3-8001-3526-4 .

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 : Schröter  - collection of images, videos and audio files