''Chrysanthia viridissima'' is a species of beetles belonging to the family
Oedemeridae
The family Oedemeridae is a cosmopolitan group of beetles commonly known as false blister beetles, though some recent authors have coined the name pollen-feeding beetles. There are some 100 genera and 1,500 species in the family, mostly associate ...
subfamily
Nacerdinae.
Subspecies
Subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
include:
[Biolib]
/ref>
*''Cantharis viridissima'' var. ''cuprina'' Pic
Distribution and habitat
These quite common beetles are present in most of Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and in the eastern Palearctic realm
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The ...
(Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic (Bohemia, Moravia), Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland).[Fauna europaea]
/ref> These beetles inhabit flowery meadows and woodlands.[
]
Description
''Chrysanthia viridissima'' can grow up to long.
/ref> These beetles have a soft and rather elongated bodies. The head is elongated. The mandibles are bifid. Antennae are long and filiform, composed by eleven segments. Pronotum is hearh-shaped. Elytra are densely punctured and have four longitudinal ribs. On the legs all pairs of coxae are enlarged. The legs and antennae are dark. Adults are metallic green (hence the Latin epithet ''viridissima'', meaning ''very green''), blue or coppery.
This species is rather similar to ''Chrysanthia geniculata
''Chrysanthia'' is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Oedemeridae, subfamily Nacerdinae. It has a Palearctic distribution.
Species
At least the following eight species are recognized:
* '' Chrysanthia cyprica'' Pic, 1920
* '' Chrysanthi ...
'', but they can be distinguished by the hair, the shape of the throat plate, the ribs on the elytra and the color.
Biology
Adults are phytophagous. They can mostly be encountered from May through July[ feeding on pollen and nectar mainly of ]Apiaceae
Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...
species, especially ''Angelica sylvestris
''Angelica sylvestris'' or wild angelica is a species of flowering plant, native to Europe and central Asia. An annual or short-lived perennial growing to a maximum of , it has erect purplish stems and rounded umbels of minuscule white or pale ...
'' and ''Heracleum sphondylium
''Heracleum sphondylium'', commonly known as hogweed or common hogweed, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, which includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and Heracleum mantegazzianum, giant hogweed. It is native to m ...
'', but also on ''Cistus salviifolius
''Cistus salviifolius'', common names sage-leaved rock-rose, salvia cistus or Gallipoli rose, is a shrub of the family Cistaceae.
Etymology
The genus name ''Cistus'' derives from the Ancient Greek words ''κίσθος'' (''kisthos'') meaning bas ...
'' (Cistaceae
The Cistaceae are a small family of plants (rock-rose or rock rose family) known for their beautiful shrubs, which are profusely covered by flowers at the time of blossom. This family consists of about 170(-200) species in eight genera that are ...
) and ''Achillea millefolium
''Achillea millefolium'', commonly known as yarrow () or common yarrow, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Growing to tall, it is characterized by small whitish flowers, a tall stem of fernlike leaves, and a pungent odor.
The plan ...
'' (Asteraceae
Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...
).[ The larvae live inside roots or in dead wood, being xylophages.
]
Gallery
File:Chrysanthia viridissima bl1.JPG, Female
File:Chrysanthia viridissima side.JPG, Side view
File:Chrysanthia viridissima underside.JPG, Underside
Bibliography
* Linnaeus, C. 1758: Systema Naturae per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis, Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiæ: impensis direct. Laurentii Salvii. i–ii, 1–824 pp;p. 403
* Vazquez, X. A. - 1989 - El genero Chrysanthia Schmidt en la Peninsula Iberica (Col., Oedemeridae) - Elytron, 3: 125-136
* Vazquez, X. A. - 2002 - European Fauna of Oedemeridae - Argania editio, Barcelona, 179 pp.
* Edmund Reitter: Fauna Germanica - Die Käfer des Deutschen Reiches. 5 Bände, Stuttgart K. G. Lutz 1908 - 1916, Digitale Bibliothek Band 134, Directmedia Publishing GmbH, Berlin 2006,
* Michael Chinery, Insectes d'Europe en couleurs, Bordas, 1987, 486 p. (ISBN 9 782040 125752 et 2-04-012575-2), p. 345
References
External links
Kerbtier - Compare beetles
Photo Mazza
Oedemeridae
Beetles of Europe
Beetles described in 1758
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Tenebrionoidea-stub