Dinoptera collaris
A Blue Black Ball neck bracket on a Umbelliferae.
The Blue Black Ball neck bracket or Colorful Ball neck bracket ( Dinoptera collaris, Syn: Acmaeops collaris ) is a beetle of the family of longhorn beetles ( Cerambycidae ).
Description
The beetles are seven to nine millimeters long. The blue-black elytra are densely punctured and pubescent stand-off. The abdomen is orange-red. The pronotum is spherically curved and usually red, sometimes dark. The sensors are turned in between the eyes, i.e., the front edges of the eyes and Einlenkungsstellen lie on a line.
Similar Species
The blue of the Black Ball neck bracket lookalike species are all rare and their pronotum is behind the front edge strongly constricted and the sensors are turned in front of the eyes.
- Acmaeops marginatus (Fabricius, 1781)
- Acmaeops pratensis ( Laicharting, 1784)
- Acmaeops septentrionis (Thomson, 1866)
Occurrence
They come in all of Europe, Asia Minor, Siberia, Armenia, Syria, in the Caucasus and Iran in deciduous forests.
Way of life
The larvae develop under the bark of dry, lying on the ground branches of oak, aspen or apple trees. Pupation takes place in the upper litter layer. The beetles can be found from April to August on flowering hawthorn, elder or umbelliferous plants, where they feed on pollen.