Hycleus pustulatus

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Hycleus pustulatus
Mylabris pustulata (Thunberg, 1821) (6089241861) (2).jpg
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Infraorder: Cucujiformia
Family: Meloidae
Genus: Hycleus
Species:
H. pustulatus
Binomial name
Hycleus pustulatus
(Thunberg, 1821)
Synonyms
  • Meloe pustulamsThunberg, 1791
  • Mylabris pustulataOlivier, 1795
  • Mylabris humeralisWalker, 1858

Hycleus pustulatus is a species of blister beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, China and Java. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Adults feed mainly on flowers from a wide range of plant families. The first larval instar is an active triungulin form that is a predator of soft insects such as aphids. While the young are often beneficial to crops by suppressing other plant feeders, the adults can be a problem when present in large numbers. Flower feeding leads to lower yield and this can be a problem in some leguminous crops. They are however easily controlled by manual collection.

Description

Body length is about 15.4 to 32.8 mm. Head and pronotum with moderately coarse deep and dense punctures. Eyes reniform. Maxillary palpi consists with strongly compressed, triangular apical segment. Pronotum has a middle region with depression along median impressed line. Elytra with moderately coarse, moderately deep and deeply punctures. Elytra pubescence is short, very dense on black area, but sparse on red area. Basal region consists with two reddish spots. These spots become rectangular in shape from dorsally and laterally. Ventrum moderately coarsely punctate, opaque. Male has deep, round emarginate sixth visible abdominal sternum, in which female is entire or feebly emarginate. [5]

Biology

It is a phytophagous beetle that exhibits polyphagy. Adult is considered as a major pest for the pigeon pea. It feeds on flowers and developing pods of the many agricultural crops such as Hibiscus rosa-sinensis , Pavonia zeylanica , Helicteres isora , Cassia occidentalis , Acacia caesia , Cleome viscosa , Zea mays , Mangifera indica , Murraya koenigii and Tridax procumbens . Feeding activity is intense during the months of July, August, September and October with flowering seasons of many plants. However, they show stable activity in year around. [6] [7]

It is an economically important species due to the ability to biosynthesize potent defensive blistering agent cantharidin. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

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

Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. About 7,500 species are known worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some are aposematically colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be predators.

<i>Meloe</i> Genus of beetles

Meloe is a genus of blister beetles commonly referred to as oil beetles. The name derives from their defensive strategy: when threatened by collectors or predators they release oily droplets of hemolymph from their joints. This fluid is bright orange and contains cantharidin, a poisonous chemical compound. Wiping the chemical on skin can cause blistering and painful swelling of the skin. This defensive strategy is not exclusive to this genus; all meloids possess and exude cantharidin upon threat.

Hycleus phaleratus, is a species of blister beetle found in China, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. It is sometimes considered a problem in agricultural cultivation but has been used in traditional Chinese medicine. The species was formerly placed in the genus Mylabris.

<i>Hycleus</i> Genus of beetles

Hycleus is a genus of blister beetle belonging to the Meloidae family found in Africa and Asia. The genus contains over 400 species, which historically have been confused with the genus Mylabris.

<i>Mylabris variabilis</i> Species of beetle

Mylabris variabilis is a species of blister beetle belonging to the Meloidae family.

Onthophagus hystrix, is a species of dung beetle found in India, and Sri Lanka.

<i>Sisyphus longipes</i> Species of beetle

Sisyphus longipes, is a species of dung beetle found in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Thailand.

Mylabris thunbergi is a species of blister beetle found in India, and Sri Lanka.

Hycleus balteata, is a species of blister beetle found in India, and Sri Lanka.

Mylabris ceylonica, is a species of blister beetle endemic to Sri Lanka.

Mylabris orientalis, is a species of blister beetle found in India and Sri Lanka.

Hycleus rouxi, is a species of blister beetle found in India, and Sri Lanka.

Sybaris nigrifinis, is a species of blister beetle found in India and Sri Lanka.

Sybaris testaceus, is a species of blister beetle found in India and Sri Lanka.

Sybaris yakkala, is a species of blister beetle endemic to Sri Lanka.

Horia debyi, is a species of blister beetle found in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia.

Horia fabriciana, is a species of blister beetle found in India, Sri Lanka and Egypt.

Zonitoschema krombeini, is a species of blister beetle endemic to Sri Lanka.

Dinonigidius bartolozzii, is a species of stag beetle endemic to Sri Lanka.

Arixyleborus mediosectus, is a species of weevil found in India, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia: Sumatra and Vietnam.

References

  1. ↑ "The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora". Ministry of Environment in Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  2. ↑ "Mylabris orientalis Marseul, 1872". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  3. ↑ "IRMNG - Mylabris orientalis Marseul, 1872". www.irmng.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  4. ↑ "Mylabris pustulata (blister beetle, arhap)". www.cabi.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  5. ↑ "The Blister Beetle (Meloidae) of Sri Lanka". Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Sciences) 13(1&2):203-251. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  6. ↑ "A STUDY ON MORPHOLOGY AND FEEDING ECOLOGY OF THE BLISTER BEETLE, MYLABRIS PUSTULATA THUNBERG (COLEOPTERA: MELOIDAE)". Advances in Pollen Spore Research Vol. XXXIV (2016) : 127-137. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
  7. ↑ Rashmi Joshi; Gaur, Neeta (2019-09-10). "First report of Blister beetle, Mylabris pustulata Thunberg (Meloidae: Coleoptera) in maize fields from Sarson village of Almora District, Uttarakhand (India)". Journal of Applied and Natural Science. 11 (3): 752–754. doi:10.31018/jans.v11i3.2162. S2CID   203881400 . Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  8. ↑ Wu, Yuan-Ming; Li, Jiang; Chen, Xiang-Sheng (2018-03-01). "Draft genomes of two blister beetles Hycleus cichorii and Hycleus phaleratus". GigaScience. 7 (3): 1–7. doi:10.1093/gigascience/giy006. PMC   5905561 . PMID   29444297.
  9. ↑ Till, Jonathan S.; Majmudar, Bhagirath N. (April 1981). "Cantharidin Poisoning". Southern Medical Journal. 74 (4): 444–447. doi:10.1097/00007611-198104000-00019. PMID   7221663. S2CID   29589945 . Retrieved 2021-07-27.

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