British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera
British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera |
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Including Aclopidae, Cetoniidae, etc.
Chafers, Dung-beetles, etc.
General appearance. 2.6–20 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 0.9–3.6. Elytral length/pronotal length 0.45–5.55. 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. Beetles oval to elongate-oval; dorsally more or less convex to dorsally strongly convex; not necked; somewhat waisted to conspicuously waisted. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous, or non-glabrous; not bristly; exhibiting scales or scale-like setae, or with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Inclination of the head slight to very strong. Eyes strongly protuberant, or not strongly protuberant; bristly, or without bristles; finely facetted. Antennae very short to short; strongly asymmetric; conspicuously elbowed, or not elbowed; 7–9(–10) segmented; without a much-elongated scape; clubbed. Antennal clubs lamellate; 3–7 segmented. Antennal insertions visible from above, or hidden from above; not in fossae.
Prothorax shorter than wide. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.3–3.08. Prothorax at its widest not markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. The tarsi without bilobed segments; with a tiny basal segment that is hard to detect, or without ‘hidden’ segments. Mid-leg tarsi 3-segmented, or 4-segmented, or 5-segmented; pentamerous, or tetramerous, or trimerous, or with fewer than three segments. Claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 3-segmented, or 4-segmented, or 5-segmented. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 3-segmented, or 4-segmented, or 5-segmented. Tarsal claws simple, or one-toothed or bifid, or serrate, denticulate or pectinate; with an empodium between them (this sometimes with three or more setae), or without an associated empodium. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 0.6–2.1. Elytra covering most of the abdomen; exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite to at least one but fewer than three complete abdominal tergites (usually with at least the pygidium exposed); glossy, or dull. Scutellary striole absent. Wings well developed, or absent or much reduced.
Visible abdominal sternites 5–7; immovably joined 0, or 2, or 4–6. Abdominal segment 8 with apparently functional spiracles, or apparently without functional spiracles.
Habitat, ecology. Not predacious; phytophagous and consuming decaying plant material (etc.?).
Larvae. Larvae not predacious; phytophagous (notably on roots), or consuming decaying plant material, or boring into dead wood (etc.?); on living vegetation, in decaying plant material, and in dung.
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Superfamily Scarabaeoidea.
British representation. Genera 21; 81 species. E.g., Melolontha melolontha (Common Cockchafer); Cetonia aurata (Rose Chafer); Phyllopertha horticola (Sutherland Bracken-clock); Aphodius villosus (Hairy Aphodius); Copris lunaris (Lunar-headed Dung-beetle); Gnoremus variabilis (8-spotted Oak-beetle); Onthophagus taurus (Bull-headed Dung-beetle); Phyllopertha horticola; Typhaeus typhoeus. Curtis also illustrated the spectacular mainland-European Polyphylla fullo.
Illustrations. • Phyllopertha horticola (Sutherland Bracken-clock: B. Ent. 526). • Phyllopertha horticola (B. Ent. 526, legend+text). • Phyllopertha horticola (B. Ent. 526, text cont.). • Aphodius villosus (Hairy Aphodius: B. Ent. 027). • Cetonia stictica (Spotted Chafer: B. Ent. 374. Adventive). • Cetonia aurata (Rose Chafer, May-bug: Giles Watson). • Copris lunaris (Lunar-headed Dung-beetle: B. Ent. 414). • Polyphylla fullo (Kent Cockchafer: B. Ent. 406. Mainland-European). • Polyphylla fullo (details, B. Ent. 406). • Polyphylla fullo : B. Ent. 406, legend+text. • Onthophagus taurus (Bull-headed Dung-beetle: B. Ent. 052). • Gnoremus variabilis (8-spotted Oak-beetle: B. Ent. 286). • Phyllopertha horticola (Rye & Fowler VIII1). • Typhaeus typhoeus (Rye & Fowler VIII2).
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: 9th June 2008. http://delta-intkey.com’.
