British insects: the families of Coleoptera
British insects: the families of Coleoptera |
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Including Cononotidae, Pedilidae part, Pilipalpidae.
Fire-coloured and Red Cardinal beetles.
General appearance. 9–17 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 2.2–3.55. Elytral length/pronotal length 2.3–6.7. Base of prothorax not or scarcely narrower than the combined elytral bases, or distinctly narrower than the combined elytral bases. Greatest prothoracic width not narrower or only slightly narrower than the greatest elytral width, or distinctly narrower than greatest elytral width. Body noticeably widest at the rear. Beetles elongate; dorsally flattened; conspicuously necked; somewhat waisted to conspicuously waisted. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous, or non-glabrous; not bristly; with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Eyes strongly protuberant, or not strongly protuberant; bristly, or without bristles. Antennae short to long, but not exceeding the insect’s head to tail length; 11 segmented; serrate, or pectinate (or plumose?). Antennal insertions visible from above, or hidden from above. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.63–1.42. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. Tarsal segmentation formula 5, 5, 4. The tarsi exhibiting bilobed segments; without ‘hidden’ segments. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 5-segmented. Mid-leg tarsi 5-segmented; pentamerous. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi simple, or one-toothed or bifid. Hind tarsi with one segment fewer than the mid-tarsi; 4-segmented. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 1.8–3.18. Elytra covering most to all of the abdomen; exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite. Scutellary striole present, or absent. Wings well developed, or absent or much reduced. Exposed abdominal sternites 5–6; all articulated and movable, or comprising both fused and movable components; immovably joined when present, 2. Abdominal segment 8 apparently without functional spiracles.
Adult habitat, ecology. In living vegetation.
Larvae. Larvae in or under bark.
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Infraorder Cucujiformia; Superfamily Tenebrionoidea.
Worldwide and British representation. About 150 species worldwide. 3 species in Britain; genera in Britain 2; Pyrochroa, Schizotus. E.g., P. coccinea.
Illustrations. • Pyrochroa coccinea: B. Ent. 590. • Pyrochroa coccinea: B. Ent. 590, legend+text. • Pyrochroa coccinea: B. Ent. 590, text cont.. • Pyrochroa serraticornis: photos, Giles Watson. • Pyrochroa coccinea, P. serraticornis and Schizotus pectinicornis (with Oedemeridae, Scraptiidae, Mordellidae and Mycterus): Fowler 5, 148 (1891). • Fowler 5, 148 (1891): original legend.. • Pyrochroa coccinea (Janson 161).
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Coleoptera. Version: 2nd January 2012. http://delta-intkey.com’.
