Sphaeridium

Sphaeridium is a genus of beetles in the family Hydrophilidae, the water scavenger beetles. They occur in Europe, and some species have been introduced to North America.[1]

Sphaeridium
Sphaeridium lunatum
Scientific classification
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Sphaeridium

Fabricius, 1775
Species

see text

The adults are 4 to 7.5 millimeters long. They have short antennae with hairy clubs at the tips.[2]

These beetles live in cow dung. The adults feed on the dung and other organic matter,[1] but the beetle larvae are predators of the maggots of the flies that breed in the dung, such as the face fly (Musca autumnalis). Two or more Sphaeridium beetle species may coexist in one pat, and the larvae may feed on each other. The female beetle deposits several eggs encased in a cocoon.[3]

Species include:[4]

  • Sphaeridium bimaculatum
  • Sphaeridium bipunctatum
  • Sphaeridium bipustulatum
  • Sphaeridium inquinatum
  • Sphaeridium lunatum
  • Sphaeridium marginatum
  • Sphaeridium pellucidum
  • Sphaeridium plagiatum
  • Sphaeridium punctiforme
  • Sphaeridium rubrum
  • Sphaeridium ruficolle
  • Sphaeridium rufipes
  • Sphaeridium scarabaeoides
  • Sphaeridium substriatum
  • Sphaeridium testudineum
  • Sphaeridium vaccarium

References

  1. Hanski, I. (1980). The three coexisting species of Sphaeridium (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae). Ann. Entomol. Fenn 46, 39-48.
  2. Watson, L. and Dallwitz, M. J. Sphaeridium. British Insects: Water Beetles. Version: 18 September 2012.
  3. Sowig, P. (1997). Predation among Sphaeridium larvae: the role of starvation and size differences (Coleoptera Hydrophilidae). Ethology Ecology & Evolution 9(3), 241-251.
  4. Sphaeridium. Fauna Europaea. Version 2.6.2.

Further reading

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