Mycterus curculioides

Mycterus curculioides, 2 copies in Reseda

Mycterus curculioides is a beetle of the family of Haarscheinrüssler. In an old German textbook on insects of the beetle carries the vernacular names weevil -like beetles or nasal trumpet beetle. However, both names are not common.

The genus Mycterus is represented in Europe by three types, which are divided into two subgenera. Worldwide, the genus includes nine species. The type Mycterus curculionides is ( threatened with extinction ) performed in the Red Lists of Germany and Bavaria under Category 1.

Remarks about the name

The name part " Scheinrüssler " of the family name Haarscheinrüssler expresses that animals such as the weevils have a snout, but are fundamentally different from the weevils. Thus, the upper lip is with them in contrast to the weevils not regressed, the probe ends not thickened clavate, and the number of Tarsenglieder is in the weevils different.

The beetle was first described in 1781 by Fabricius under the name Rhinomacer curculioides. Fabricius puts the genus Rhinomacer behind the genus Curculio. The Latin description of the type begins with Fabricius with the words Statura onmino curculionis (lat the form completely that of a weevil ). This explains the style name curculioidēs (of curculio, weevil and AltGr. Ειδής " oath " for " similar "). 1803 replaced Olivier accidentally in an encyclopedia the style name curculioides by curculionoides by misquoting Fabricius ( fr. Rhinomacer curculionoide ( Rhinomacer curculionoides Fab. ) ). Olivier himself used the spelling curculioides 1807 again, but other authors ( Latreille, Illiger and others) take on the style name curculionoides. In the period following the synonym curculionoides is usual for the species names as curculioides. The genus name Rhinomacer ( AltGr. Ρίς, ρινός " rhis rhinos " for " nose " and the Latin " Macer " for " thin" ) refers to the slender trunk-like extension of the head .. Fabricius generic name is a junior homonym of the same name was been awarded in 1762 by Geoffroy and 1764 by Müller for another beetle species ( now called Cimberis ).

Clairsville and Schellenberg 1792 split the genus Rhinomacer and run without specifying the etymology for the name of the genus Mycterus one. After Schenkling Myctērus is AltGr from. μυκτήρ, μυκτήρος " myktēr, myktēros " for " nose " derived. The type itself is called by Clairsville Mycterus griseus and thus created another synonym. The species is found in Clairsville in the weevil family. Later, the genus is assigned to different families, such as the longhorn beetles, the beetles soft, then to the dragon beetles in the subfamily Mycterinae, which is now considered as an independent family Haarscheinrüssler.

Description of the beetle

The drum-shaped beetles vary greatly in size and coloring. He is without a trunk six to twelve millimeters long. As long as the Beetle is fresh, it is oberseits shaggy haired yellowish gray fitting and dusted yellowish. In older animals comes through attrition increasingly the black color to the fore, so that the animals can appear yellow, gray, monochrome or mottled.

The head is punctured flat and fine. The narrowing to a proboscis is abrupt right before the eyes. The almost bare trunk is about half as long as the breastplate, and twice as long as wide with nearly parallel sides In the male it is slightly longer than in the female. It bears three longitudinal ribs, of which the middle one is the weakest trained. The two lying between the ribs parallel grooves are continued on the forehead and run over the eyes apart. The upper jaw are hardly visible from above. They end up at the top split. The pine probe (Fig. 4 B ) is a four tier, the pine key output member is beilförmig. The tripartite labial palpi is small, the end link is greatest, but neither triangular nor truncated (Fig. 4 A).. The black thread-like probe (Fig. 5 a) are turned in at half the length of the trunk side of the outer longitudinal rib. They consist of eleven somewhat flattened, slightly thicker becoming outward limbs. They are about the same length, only the third term is longer. The links are not exactly steered into the tip of the previous sensor element so that they mimic the impression that the sensor be sawed. The front part of the last sensor element is cut off a bit and can therefore another antennal pretend ( Fig. 2). The probe hardly reaches the trailing edge of the throat plate. The lateral eyes are round, large, and highly arched. Around the eyes is the ring-like exoskeleton increased ( Fig. 5 a). The forehead is one and a half times as wide as an eye diameter between the eyes.

The neck plate widens bell-shaped back. He is almost as long as wide at the base. The base is compared with the tag attached furthest pulled back side of the base is shallow curved inwardly. The pronotum is irregularly coarsely punctured. The base is weak and low margins and corrugated. Before the middle of the base is a short longitudinal furrow. On Basalrand of pronotum lies on each side about two -thirds of the base width of the longitudinal furrow removed a small Punktgrübchen.

The scutellum is transverse oval to rectangular. It is hairy and coarsely punctured and protrudes above the level of the elytra beyond.

The curved wing-coverts are the same width as the base of pronotum at the base. They are found on the shoulders and there pressed briefly along. Behind the shoulders, they are approximately parallel. They end rounded together. They are irregularly coarsely and densely punctured reibeisenartig. They appear querrunzelig, but there is no visible striations. The pages are edged, viewed from above the rim is up to the shoulders visible.

The underside is densely silvery gray hairs ( Fig. 3). The legs are rather petite. The Haarscheinrüssler among the heteromers, the Hintertarsen are thus four members, while the remaining tarsi are five-membered. At the front legs the penultimate member of the tarsi is the longest element ( Fig. 5 b ), on all tarsi the penultimate element is heart-shaped widened and split. The jaws are extended on the base to a wide tooth. The two first visible Hinterleibssternite are fused together. The last abdominal segment in the female is short and wide and has a transverse furrow before the end. In the male it is narrow and slightly bent. Also located in the male on the second sternite a rusty hairy hump.

Biology

You can find the heat-loving beetles in Central Europe to heat and sunny slopes on flood plains flowers, often on umbelliferous plants, but also on flowering bushes. In a Spanish analysis of locality data almost 60 % Umbelliferae be called, followed by 13% composite flowers, and each depending almost ten percent spurge and Zistrosengewächsen. The remaining finds are spread over a further four plant families. The larvae develop under the bark of damaged pines. The findings on the Iberian Peninsula come from both wet and dry habitats. They lie in the period from late spring to early summer.

Dissemination

The species is most common in the western Mediterranean '(Spain, Portugal, Italy, Balearic Islands, North Africa). However, it is also much further north and east before, but there is the occurrence of very patchy ( British Isles, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, South Russia ).