Double-spotted earl beetle
| Double-spotted earl beetle | ||||||||||||
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Double-spotted hairpin beetle ( Malachius bipustulatus ), male, with excitators protruding on the basal antennae |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Malachius bipustulatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The two- spotted eye beetle or two-spotted warthog beetle ( Malachius bipustulatus ) is a beetle from the family Melyridae within the subfamily of the eye beetle (Malachiinae).
Double-spotted ear beetles only grow to be six millimeters long. The chitin armor has a metallic green shine. There are red parts of the body at various points on the body (head, antennae , edge of the thorax , rear end of the wing covers ). The body is elongated. The legs are relatively long and partially covered with red rings. The antennae are long and thread-like, in the male it is the 2nd – 4th. Antennae with red, often orange-yellow extensions.
The beetles are widespread in Europe , Siberia and Asia Minor . They mainly inhabit meadows. They do not occur at all at higher altitudes.
During the day, the animals sit on flowers and grass, from which they eat the pollen . The males produce special secretions that attract the females. When the female has ingested the secretion, she is ready to mate. The larvae live on the ground in old wood, where they hunt small insects . After several moults, the larvae pupate. The finished beetle hatches from the pupa.
literature
- Jiři Zahradnik, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Käfer Central and Northwestern Europe , Parey Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1
Web links
- Malachius bipustulatus at Fauna Europaea