Two-spotted fall beetle
| Two-spotted fall beetle | ||||||||||||
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Two-spotted fall beetle |
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| Cryptocephalus bipunctatus | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The two-point fall beetle or two-point fall beetle , ( Cryptocephalus bipunctatus ) is a beetle from the leaf beetle family and the fall beetle subfamily . The generic name "Cryptocephalus" means "hidden head" (from AltGr. : Κρυπτός, kryptós , "hidden" and κεφαλή kefali "head") and refers to the fact that the head part in the neck plate is retracted. The species name "bipunctatus" ( Latin ) means "two-point" and refers to the black dots or spots on the red wing covers . The name "fall beetle" refers to the fact that the beetles suddenly drop themselves when disturbed. A linguistic confusion of the two-spotted fall beetle ( Cryptocephalus bipunctatus ) with the two-spotted fall beetle ( Cryptocephalus biguttatus ) is obvious, but they are two different species.
In all of Europe the species occurs as a subspecies Cryptocephalus bipunctatus bipunctatus .
Characteristics of the beetle
The beetle is four to six millimeters long. Its body is glossy lacquered and has a squat cylindrical shape. The head, pronotum and legs are black, the color of the elytra is red with very variable black spots.
The head is drawn into the pronotum up to the eyes and is hardly visible from above, only the lower part of the head is free. The compound eyes are kidney-shaped, the indentation is in front over the middle (Fig. 1). The thin, thread-like antennae consist of eleven sections and reach about body length. They are turned away from each other between the compound eyes near the edges of the eyes at the front and bottom (Fig. 1). The first antenna segment is large, the second to fifth narrow and increasingly elongated, the following ones are about the same length as the fifth, but more robust and hinted at sawn. The mandibles end in two teeth. The lip switches are four-part and have a truncated end.
The pronotum widens backwards and is widest at the base. The base is curved inward in front of each wing cover, slightly bulged in front of the label (overall double-indented). At the edge the base is serrated tightly (Fig. 2).
The elytra are bright orange-red in the basic color. According to the name of the species, each wing cover has two spots, a smaller one in the shoulder area and a larger one in the back half of the wing cover. However, the spectrum of aberrations ranges from only two spots in the shoulder area or only two spots in the back half to elongated stripes that can also include the shoulder spots, to black elytra, where only a small red spot of the basic color is left on the wing tip . This creates a risk of confusing dark forms of Cryptocephalus biguttatus . In the latter, however, the apical blemish is inclined, whereas in the two-point drop beetle it is more perpendicular to the body axis. The epipleurs of the elytra are always black. The rows of points are regular. The triangular black label is clearly visible. The elytra are individually rounded at the end.
The hips Front hips are widely separated from each other by an extension of the front chest. The tarsi are all four-limbed, but a thickening on the claw can be interpreted as a rudimentary additional tarsi (with the number 4).
biology
The adult beetle is found from May to June, mainly on hazel , willow and cheekbones .
distribution
The range of Cryptocephalus bipunctatus bipunctatus extends over the whole of Europe and extends into the eastern Palearctic . The subspecies can also be found in North Africa.
literature
- Heinz joy, Karl Wilhelm Harde, Gustav Adolf Lohse (ed.): The beetles of Central Europe . tape 9 . Cerambycidae Chrysomelidae . Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-8274-0683-8 (first edition: Goecke & Evers, Krefeld 1966).
- Gustav Jäger (Ed.): CG Calwer’s Käferbuch . K. Thienemanns, Stuttgart 1876, 3rd edition
- John Curtis : British Entomology . London 1824
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Cryptocephalus bipunctatus in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved January 13, 2011
- ↑ 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. 240 .
