''Oedemera'' is a genus of beetles in 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
Oedemerinae
Oedemerinae are a subfamily of the false blister beetles (family Oedemeridae), also known as pollen-feeding beetles. The Nacerdinae are sometimes merged here.
The phylogeny of this family is not robustly deduced in detail. While traditionally ...
.
[Vázquez, X. A. (2002). ''Fauna of European Oedemeridae''. Argania Editio, Barcelona. 178 pp. ]
Description
Species in the genus ''Oedemera'' are slender, soft-bodied beetles of medium size, typically ranging from 5 to 20 mm in length. Their coloration can be bright and metallic (such as green, gold, or copper), or combinations of black with yellow or brown.
The
mandibles
In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla).
The jawbone i ...
are bifid (split) at the apex, and the last segment of the maxillary palps is narrow and elongated. The antennae are long and threadlike. In most species, the
elytra
An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...
are narrowed towards the rear, exposing part of the hind wings. The pronotum lacks lateral edges and is significantly narrower than the elytra.
The tibiae bear two apical spines, and in most species, the hind femora of males are notably swollen or enlarged.
Biology and ecology
Species of the genus ''Oedemera'' feed on pollen and nectar. Their bodies are covered in dense pubescence, which traps pollen grains and contributes to the pollination of the plants they visit.
Species in the subgenus ''Oncomera'' are crepuscular or nocturnal, flying at dusk and during the night. They visit the flowers and inflorescences of aromatic shrubs and various plants, including ''Clematis'', ''Crataegus'', ''Tilia'', and ''Quercus''.
In contrast, species belonging to the subgenera ''Stenaxis'' and ''Oedemera'' sensu stricto are diurnal. They are active in full sunlight during the middle of the day and visit flowers from a variety of plant families, such as Asteraceae, Cistaceae, and Apiaceae.
Distribution
This genus includes approximately eighty species, distributed from the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...
and North Africa to
Kamchatka
The Kamchatka Peninsula (, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and western coastlines, respectively.
Immediately offshore along the Pacific ...
, the
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, and
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
, with some species also found in the northeastern region of Asia.
List of species
Subgenus ''Oedemera'' s. str.
* ''
O. (O.) afghana''
* ''
O. (O.) algerica''
* ''
O. (O.) annulata''
* ''
O. (O.) atrata''
* ''
O. (O.) barbara''
* ''
O. (O.) basalis''
* ''
O. (O.) basipes''
* ''
O. (O.) brevipennis''
* ''
O. (O.) crassipes''
* ''
O. (O.) cretica''
* ''
O. (O.) croceicollis''
* ''
O. (O.) femorata''
* ''
O. (O.) flavipennis''
* ''
O. (O.) flavipes''
* ''
O. (O.) graeca''
* ''
O. (O.) hispanica''
* ''
O. (O.) inapicalis''
* ''
O. (O.) lateralis''
* ''
O. (O.) lurida''
* ''
O. (O.) melanopyga''
* ''
O. (O.) monticola''
* ''
O. (O.) nobilis''
* ''
O. (O.) penicillata''
* ''
O. (O.) podagrariae''
* ''
O. (O.) pthysica''
* ''
O. (O.) rostralis''
* ''
O. (O.) rufofemorata''
* ''
O. (O.) schrammi''
* ''
O. (O.) simplex''
* ''
O. (O.) subrobusta''
* ''
O. (O.) testaceithorax''
* ''
O. (O.) tristis''
* ''
O. (O.) unicolor''
* ''
O. (O.) virescens''
Subgenus ''
Stenaxis''
* ''
O. (S.) amurensis''
* ''
O. (S.) annulata''
Subgenus ''
Oncomera''
* ''
O. (O.) femoralis''
* ''
O. (O.) flavicans''
* ''
O. (O.) marmorata''
* ''
O. (O.) murinipennis''
* ''
O. (O.) natolica''
* ''
O. (O.) reitteri''
Gallery
File:Oedemeridae - Oedemera flavipes.JPG, ''Oedemera flavipes''
File:Oedemera atrata3.jpg, ''Oedemera atrata''
File:Oedemera nobilis02.jpg, ''Oedemera nobilis''
File:Oedemera croceicollis RF.jpg, ''Oedemera croceicollis''
File:Oedemera femorata01.jpg, ''Oedemera femorata''
References
External links
BiolibFauna Europaea
{{Taxonbar, from=Q146725
Oedemeridae
Tenebrionoidea genera
Taxa named by Guillaume-Antoine Olivier