Lebia cruxminor

Small cross - pomp runners on finger

The small cross - pomp runners ( Lebia cruxminor ) is a beetle of the family of beetles and the subfamily of Lebiinae.

The genus name comes from Lebia AltGr. λεβίας Lebias " fish liver " with an unclear reference. The species name is formed from the Latin cruxminor crux "cross" and minor " small " refers to the cross-shaped drawing of the elytra and has been transferred into the name of Germany. The strikingly colored and rare animal rests on several red lists.

Characteristics of the beetle

The beetle is 5.5 to 7 millimeters in size. He is very shiny, the head is black, the pronotum and elytra bright red yellow red with black markings.

The mouthparts are facing forward. The eyes are large and rounded. The eleven-membered antennae are filiform and only hairy tight from the fourth member.

The gerandete pronotum is bald and much wider than long. He has a very unusual shape. At the base of the middle of the pronotum is more than half the width of trapezoidal extended to the rear ( Fig. 1, right green). The rear angle ( Fig. 1, right blue ) end pointed and each carry a bristle ( Fig. 1, right red).

The only sparsely hairy elytra are remarkably broad and flat. In the end they are vertically truncated to the body axis, the abdomen end uncovered. The "cross" consists of a broad transverse fascia behind the middle, which widens at the elytra and suture the red zone at the end of the wing-cover ( Apikalmakel ) can embrace. Furthermore, a triangular area around the scutellum is black. The seam can be black.

The red legs are blackened at the joint between the leg and rail as well as the rail ends, the tarsi are black. Occasionally, the legs can also be completely black. The jaws are serrated comb- shaped ( Fig. 2).

Biology

The biological cycle is annual, with the animals hibernate as imagos. The propagation takes place in the spring.

One finds the animals alike very different dry to moist sites, standing at edges moss-covered waters to wet meadows, dry grasslands on sand or in the woods, on herbs, shrubs or trees. The beetles are good fliers and diurnal. They are found in subalpine to documents, but rarely to very rare. They are predators of various leaf beetles. The larvae hunt phytophagous insect larvae ( ectoparasitically on larvae of Galeruca tanaceti ). In winter you can see they bark at the base of old trees.

Dissemination

The species is widespread Palaearctic from North Africa to Siberia and Japan and is missing only in the northern areas.