Elater ferrugineus

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Elater ferrugineus
Elateridae - Elater ferrugineus.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Elateridae
Genus: Elater
Species:
E. ferrugineus
Binomial name
Elater ferrugineus
Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
  • Elater ferrugineus ferrugineus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Ludius ferrugineus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Elater ferrugineus, the rusty click beetle, is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae.

Contents

Varietas

Varietas include: [1]

Distribution

This species is widespread in the Western Palearctic realm. [2] [3]

Description

Elater ferrugineus can reach a length of 17–24 millimetres (0.67–0.94 in). [2] [4] This species is rather variable. Head is dark brown. Pronotum and elytra of males are usually bright orange or reddish, while females show a uniform dark brown color and are smaller than males. The legs are black. The antennae are mid-brown to black. In males they extend up to the posterior edge of the pronotum, while in females they are shorter. [4]

Biology

Larvae develop in hole of ancient trees of various species, mainly oak ( Quercus robur ), [5] ash ( Fraxinus excelsior ), beech ( Fagus sylvatica ) and elm ( Ulmus spp.). The life cycle lasts 4–6 years. [6] Pupation occurs in spring. [4] These larvae are predatory. They especially prey on hermit beetle ( Osmoderma eremita ) and rose chafer ( Cetonia aurata ). [1]

When male E. ferrugineus are attracted to a female, they release compounds that attract other males to the site. These compounds include geranyl, nerylacetone and 6-methyl-5-heptene-2-one. Attraction of males only occurs in the presence of females, ensuring increased mating opportunities. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beetle</span> Order of insects

Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops. Some others also have unusual characteristics, such as fireflies, which use a light-emitting organ for mating and communication purposes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telephone-pole beetle</span> Species of beetle

The telephone-pole beetle is a beetle native to the eastern United States and the only living representative of the otherwise extinct family Micromalthidae. Larvae of the beetle live in decaying wood and can be pests to wooden structures, lending them their common name, the 'telephone-pole beetle.'

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cockchafer</span> Species of scarab beetle

The common cockchafer, also colloquially known as the Maybug, Maybeetle, or doodlebug, is a species of scarab beetle belonging to the genus Melolontha. It is native to Europe, and it is one of several closely-related and morphologically similar species of Melolontha called cockchafers, alongside Melolontha hippocastani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Click beetle</span> Family of beetles

Elateridae or click beetles are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or skipjacks. This family was defined by William Elford Leach (1790–1836) in 1815. They are a cosmopolitan beetle family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few other families of Elateroidea in which a few members have the same mechanism, but most elaterid subfamilies can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" that can bounce the beetle into the air. Clicking is mainly used to avoid predation, although it is also useful when the beetle is on its back and needs to right itself. There are about 9300 known species worldwide, and 965 valid species in North America.

Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also occurs in the families Elateridae, Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae among beetles; as well as members of the genera Arachnocampa, Keroplatus and Orfelia among keroplatid fungus gnats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deathwatch beetle</span> Species of woodboring beetle

The deathwatch beetle is a species of woodboring beetle that sometimes infests the structural timbers of old buildings. The adult beetle is brown and measures on average 7 mm (0.3 in) long. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old wood inside buildings, trees, and inside tunnels left behind by previous larvae. The larvae bore into the timber, feeding for up to ten years before pupating, and later emerging from the wood as adult beetles. Timber that has been damp and is affected by fungal decay is soft enough for the larvae to chew through. They obtain nourishment by using enzymes present in their gut to digest the cellulose and hemicellulose in the wood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Violet click beetle</span> Species of beetle

The violet click beetle is a black beetle, 12 mm (0.5 in) long, with a faint blue/violet reflection. It gets its name from the family habit of springing upwards with an audible click if it falls on its back. It occurs in Europe.

<i>Megapenthes lugens</i> Species of beetle

Megapenthes lugens is a species of primarily European click beetle. The adult is black, narrow and 7–10 mm (0.28–0.39 in) long. The larvae feed on weevil larvae in the decaying trunks of beech and elm. In July 2010, the common name "queen's executioner beetle" was proposed following a competition.

<i>Callipogon relictus</i> Species of beetle

Callipogon relictus is a species of longhorn beetle which is mostly found in Korea, but also in China and southern part of Russian Far East. It inhabits mixed and deciduous forests. The population of Callipogon relictus is decreasing due to deforestation and uncontrolled collection, and therefore the species are listed in the Russian Red Book.

<i>Alaus oculatus</i> Species of beetle

Alaus oculatus, commonly called the eastern eyed click beetle or eyed elater, is a species of click beetle.

<i>Stenurella melanura</i> Species of beetle

Stenurella melanura is a flower longhorn beetle species of the family Cerambycidae, subfamily Lepturinae.

<i>Agrypnus murinus</i> Species of beetle

Agrypnus murinus is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae subfamily Agrypninae.

<i>Denticollis linearis</i> Species of beetle

Denticollis linearis is a species of click beetle belonging to the family Elateridae subfamily Dendrometrinae.

<i>Pyrophorus noctilucus</i> Species of beetle

Pyrophorus noctilucus, common name headlight elater, is a species of click beetle.

<i>Anastrangalia dubia</i> Species of beetle

Anastrangalia dubia is a species of beetle of family Cerambycidae.

<i>Athous vittatus</i> Species of beetle

Athous vittatus is a species of beetle in the family Elateridae and the genus Athous.

<i>Athous bicolor</i> Species of beetle

Athous bicolor is a species of click beetle.

<i>Ctenicera virens</i> Species of beetle

Ctenicera virens is a species of click beetles.

<i>Oxynopterus mucronatus</i> Species of beetle

Oxynopterus mucronatus, sometimes known as the giant click beetle, is a species of click beetle from tropical Southeast Asia. Their larvae are specialized predators of termites.

<i>Ampedus</i> Genus of beetles

Ampedus is a genus of click beetles in the family Elateridae. There are currently 461 recognized species of Ampedus beetles. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, but is found mostly in the Holarctic region, primarily in North America, Europe, and Asia. The oldest known fossil from this genus was found in Eocene Baltic amber, estimated to be from 38.0 to 33.9 million years ago.

References

  1. 1 2 Biolib
  2. 1 2 Elateridae - Click Beetles of the Palearctic Region
  3. Fauna europaea
  4. 1 2 3 Elateridae of the British Isles
  5. Ranius, Thomas (2011). "Predicting spatial occurrence of beetles and pseudoscorpions in hollow oaks in southeastern Sweden" (PDF). Biodiversity and Conservation. 20 (9): 2027–2040. doi:10.1007/s10531-011-0072-6. S2CID   11409566.
  6. Meržijevskis, Aleksandras; Tamutis, Vytautas (23 July 2012). "Elater ferrugineus Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Elateridae) – a new species for Lithuania". Acta Zoologica Lituanica. 20 (4): 242–245. doi:10.2478/v10043-010-0036-1.
  7. Harvey, Deborah J.; Harvey, Hannah; Harvey, Rachael P.; Kadej, Marcin; Hedenström, Erik; Gange, Alan C.; Finch, Paul; Didham, Raphael; Müller, Jörg (March 2017). "Use of novel attraction compounds increases monitoring success of a rare beetle, Elater Ferrugineus". Insect Conservation and Diversity. 10 (2): 161–170. doi:10.1111/icad.12214. S2CID   91035887.