Chrysanthia

Chrysanthia geniculata easily changed by Reitter

Chrysanthia is a genus of beetles in the family of the bill longhorn beetle ( Oedemeridae ) with Palaearctic distribution.

Description

The types of Chrysanthia are 5-11 mm long, and are colored shiny metallic - green. You can use the golden shimmer or copper-colored. The mandibles are two split at the top, the eyes are small, the antennae are long with 11 members. The prothorax is heart-shaped, the elytra are subparallel and provided with four longitudinal ribs. In some species the elytra bear bristles. The legs are thin, but in some males the hind legs are thickened. The claw of the tarsus are not perforated.

Occurrence and species

There are 18 known species and subspecies with a disjunktem distribution area. Sun, 11 species occur evenly from Europe to the Siberian taiga to central China and Japan. A second group of seven species colonized coniferous forests on the south side of the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush. Are the steppes of Central Asia, which are not settled between the two groups. In Europe, following eight species are:

• Chrysanthia cyprica. Endemic to Cyprus.
• Chrysanthia flavipes. Dodecanese, Asia Minor.
• Chrysanthia geniculata. From Europe to central China and Japan.
• Chrysanthia hamata. Endemic to the Iberian peninsula.
• Chrysanthia reitteri. Endemic to the Iberian peninsula.
• Chrysanthia superba. North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula.
• Chrysanthia varipes. Balkans, Anatolia and the Caucasus.
• Chrysanthia viridissima. From Europe to western Siberia.

Way of life

The types of Chrysanthia live exclusively in coniferous forests, is being suspected that their larvae develop in dead wood. The adults are diurnal and visit flowers to feed on pollen.