Anthia thoracica

Desert beetle ( Anthia thoracic )

The desert beetle ( Anthia thoracic ) belongs to the family Carabidae and to the genus Anthia. As the name implies, the desert beetle is one of the flightless beetles. To escape danger, he relies on his extreme speed.

Description

The desert beetle is a fast, nocturnal, predatory hunters, equipped with brush-like hairy feet, which are particularly suitable for locomotion on sand. In contrast, the elytra are fused together and the membranes wings under the elytra entirely disappeared, which means that he is unable to fly. The elytra have a dark brown to black in color with yellow markings. Worth mentioning is its main chemical defense weapon. Feel the desert beetle threatened, then he sprayed a jet of a paunch glands, which can cover a distance of up to 35 cm. The beam is a corrosive chemical ( eg, formic acid) on human skin causes severe pain and presents serious problems if the chemical liquid penetrates into the eyes. The substance may, if the eyes are not treated immediately, leading to temporary blindness. Another defensive weapon, the strong, sharp claws pine, which have a length up to 5 mm. These pines can add malicious bite wounds. The desert beetles can reach a length of 5 to 6 cm and an age of up to 4 years.

Dissemination

The main distribution area of the desert ground beetle is South Africa, he mainly inhabited the steppes and semi- deserts.

Food

The desert beetles preferred among others insects, such as grasshoppers, larvae and their eggs. He is one of the major meat recyclers in all terrestrial ecosystems.

Reproduction

The powerful jaws claws are not only for Trail and rival fights, but also to hold the female during mating. For oviposition, the female crawls in ant nests, where also develop the carnivorous larvae. They feed mainly on ants.