Blaps lethifera

Blaps lethifera
Blaps lethifera
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Family:	Tenebrionidae
Genus:	Blaps
Species:	B. lethifera
Binomial name
Blaps lethifera Marsham, 1802

Blaps lethifera is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae. The species is native to the Palaearctic and considered invasive in the UK, Finland, and Sweden. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Identification

Blaps lethifera is difficult to identify, as individual characters can look quite different from one another and it is challenging to differentiate them from similar species based on only one feature. No single trait is reliable for identification. Females are considered impossible to identify with certainty, however roughly 98% of males can be accurately identified based on the shape of part of the specimen's leg (the ventroapical projection of protarsomere 5) and its reproductive structure (the aedeagus). In some cases, the specimens may resemble a mix of different species, which adds to the challenge of identification. ^[4]

References

1. "Blaps lethifera". BugGuide. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
2. "The Blaps species of Sweden, with a review of the B. lethifera group (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae)" (PDF). SEF. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
3. "Blaps lethifera". NCBI. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
4. Bousquet, Y; Thomas, DB; Bouchard, P; Smith, AD; Aalbu, RL; Johnston, AM; Steiner, WE Jr (2018). "Catalogue of Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of North America". ZooKeys. 728 (1–455). Retrieved 2025-01-26.

External links

• Media related to Blaps lethifera at Wikimedia Commons