Cerocoma

Cerocoma
Cerocoma schaefferi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Meloidae
Subfamily: Meloinae
Tribe: Cerocomini
Genus: Cerocoma
Geoffroy, 1762

Cerocoma is a Palearctic genus of blister beetle, whose biology is poorly known.[1] As in other members of the family, these insects are hypermetamorphic. Larval hosts of few species were described. Imagines show distinct sexual dimorphism in the feeding apparatus and the antennae. All species in this genus have aposematic colouration.

The antennae are 9-segmented, and the galea is modified into a sucking tube; imagines feed on pollen and nectar of Asteraceae and Apiaceae plants. The wings are well-developed, and the legs are long and slender.

Larvae of C. schreberi were found feeding on paralysed mantids collected by Tachytes wasps.[2]

The genus is mostly Mediterranean in distribution, and encompasses about 27 species.[3] Fauna Europaea lists 13 species[4] The taxonomic division into two subgenera, Cerocoma and Metacerocoma (Kaszab, 1951) was considered unfounded by some authors.[5] Based on morphological and molecular analysis, Turco and Bologna subdivided the genus into five subgenera: Cerocoma, Cerocomina, Mesocerocoma, Metacerocoma and Meloides.[6]

List of species

Subgenus Metacerocoma

Subgenus Cerocoma

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cerocoma.
Wikispecies has information related to: Cerocoma
  1. Federica Turco, Andrea Di Giulio & Marco A. Bologna (2003). "Sexual and cleaning behaviour and related morphology in the genus Cerocoma (Coleoptera: Meloidae)". Journal of Insect Behavior 16 (2): 257–278. doi:10.1023/A:1023971919814.
  2. A. Cros (1919). "Biologie des Cerocoma". Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 14: 248–252.
  3. Federica Turco , Marco A. Bologna (2007). "Revision of the genus Diaphorocera Heyden, 1863 (Coleoptera, Meloidae, Cerocomini)". Contributions to Zoology 76 (2): 63–85.
  4. "Cerocoma Geoffroy 1762". Fauna Europaea. Retrieved September 1, 2010.
  5. Klucze do oznaczania owadów Polski : opracowanie zbiorowe. Cz. 19 z. 84, Majkowate - Meloidae. Warszawa-Wrocław : Państ. Wydaw. Naukowe, 1987 ISBN 83-01-07379-9
  6. Systematic revision of the genus Cerocoma Geoffroy, 1762. Zootaxa, No. 2853. (29 April 2011), pp. 1-71
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, October 19, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.