The Vesperidae are a small

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

beetle Beetles are 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 describ ...

s, normally classified within the family

Cerambycidae The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...

, of heterogeneous aspect but all characterised by larval stages related to roots of herbaceous plants or trees

Morphology

Adult

The nocturnal adults are characterised by earthy brown-testaceous colours, brachypterous wings or apterous (especially in females) and physogastry in females. Some tropical genera ('' Pathocerus'') have comb-like antennae, some other (''

Hypocephalus A hypocephalus is a small disk-shaped object generally made of stuccoed linen,British Museum Dept. of Egyptian Antiquities, ''A General Introductory Guide to the Egyptian Collections in the British Museum'', Published by Trustees of the British ...

'') extremely reduced antennae. Some genera, such as the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian '' Migdolus'' have well-developed mandibles, such as the males of the cerambycids '' Parandra'' and '' Spondylis'', while others, such as the males of the genus ''Hypocephalus'', have extremely modified mandibles.

Larva

The larvae have evolved some adaptations to subterranean life. In particular, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

genus '' Vesperus'' have

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e characterised by a peculiar larval

hypermetamorphosis Hypermetamorphosis, or heteromorphosis,P.J. Gullan & P.S. Cranston. 2010. The Insects: An Outline of Entomology, 4th Edition. Wiley-Blackwell. is a term used in entomology that refers to a class of variants of holometabolism, that is to say, com ...

. The larvae I have a normal worm-like aspect (though characterised by abnormally long setae), while those of following stadia have a C-shaped aspect, which makes them similar to the larvae of

Melolonthinae Melolonthinae is a subfamily of the scarab beetles (family Scarabaeidae). It is a very diverse group; distributed over most of the world, it contains over 11,000 species in over 750 genera. Some authors include the scarab subfamilies Euchirina ...

Systematics

The family includes 3 subfamilies: * Anoplodermatinae Guérin-Méneville, 1840 * Philinae J.Thomson, 1860 * Vesperinae Mulsant, 1839 In the past, the Vesperini has been placed within

Lepturinae Lepturinae, the lepturine beetles, is a subfamily of the longhorn beetle family (Cerambycidae), containing about 150 genera worldwide. This lineage is most diverse in the Northern Hemisphere. Until recently the subfamily Necydalinae was includ ...

, the Anoplodermatini within

Prioninae The Prioninae are a subfamily of Cerambycidae (long-horned beetles). They are typically large (25–70 mm) and usually brown or black. The males of a few genera sport large mandibles that are used in fights with other males, similar to st ...

and the Philini a mysterious group related to the

. Some peculiar larval characteristics of ''Vesperus'' has prompted some authorities to separate them as a subfamily and later as a distinct family.
In 1997 Švácha, Wang & Chen recognised the morphological similarities among these three groups in the larval stadia. More recently, analyses on chromosomes has also evidenced strong differences with respect to Cerambycidae.DUTRILLAUX A. M., MOULIN S. & DUTRILLAUX B. (2007) Presence d’un caryotype tres original a 53-54 chromosomes chez ''Vesperus xatarti'' Mulsant 1839 (Coleoptera : Cerambycidae :Vesperinae). Annales de la Societé entomologique de France (N. S.) 43 (1): 81-86. Available in PD

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References

External links

Gallery of world-wide VesperidaeGallery of Anoplodermatinae
{{Taxonbar, from=Q535824 Vesperidae, Beetle families