| Niphoparmena elgonensis | |
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| Species: | N. elgonensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Niphoparmena elgonensis (Breuning, 1939) | |
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Niphoparmena elgonensis is a species of beetle in the family Cerambycidae. It was described by Stephan von Breuning in 1939. [1]
Beetles are a group of insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal life-forms; new species are discovered frequently. The largest of all families, the Curculionidae (weevils) with some 80,000 member species, belongs to this order. 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.
Stephan von Breuning was an Austrian entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera, particularly Cerambycidae.
It's 12 mm long and 3 mm wide, and its type locality is Mount Elgon, Kenya. [2]
Mount Elgon is an extinct shield volcano on the border of Uganda and Kenya, north of Kisumu and west of Kitale. The mountain's highest point, named "Wagagai", is located entirely within Uganda. Although there is no verifiable evidence of its earliest volcanic activity, geologists estimate that Mount Elgon is at least 24 million years old, making it the oldest extinct volcano in East Africa.