| Sphaeridium | |
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| Sphaeridium lunatum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Infraorder: | Staphyliniformia |
| Superfamily: | Hydrophiloidea |
| Family: | Hydrophilidae |
| Genus: | Sphaeridium Fabricius, 1775 |
| Species | |
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see text | |
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.
Description
The adults are 4 to 7.5 millimeters long. They have short antennae with hairy clubs at the tips.
These beetles live in cow dung. The adults feed on the dung and other organic matter, 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.
Species
Species include:
- Sphaeridium abbreviatum Boheman, 1851
- Sphaeridium abditum Orchymont, 1943
- Sphaeridium abductum J.Balfour-Browne, 1950
- Sphaeridium affine Berge Henegouwen, 1987
- Sphaeridium aschenborni Berge Henegouwen, 1992
- Sphaeridium balfourbrownei M.Hansen, 1999
- Sphaeridium bipunctatum Thunberg, 1794
- Sphaeridium bipustulatum Fabricius, 1781
- Sphaeridium bisinuatum J.Balfour-Browne, 1950
- Sphaeridium bottegoi Marcuzzi, 1941
- Sphaeridium braziliense Berge Henegouwen, 1986
- Sphaeridium caffrum Laporte de Castelnau, 1840
- Sphaeridium chrysomelinum (Klug, 1833)
- Sphaeridium circumcinctum Régimbart, 1907
- Sphaeridium corradinii Marcuzzi, 1941
- Sphaeridium daemonicum Fikáček & Kropáček, 2015
- Sphaeridium densepunctatum Berlov & Shatrovskiy, 1989
- Sphaeridium dimidiatum Gory, 1834
- Sphaeridium discolor Orchymont, 1933
- Sphaeridium dolum J.Balfour-Browne, 1950
- Sphaeridium exile Boheman, 1851
- Sphaeridium eximium Berge Henegouwen, 1992
- Sphaeridium fallaciosum J.Balfour-Browne, 1950
- Sphaeridium flavomaculatum Orchymont, 1924
- Sphaeridium huijbregtsi Berge Henegouwen, 1986
- Sphaeridium inopinatum J.Balfour-Browne, 1958
- Sphaeridium inquinatum Kugelann, 1798
- Sphaeridium jongemai Berge Henegouwen, 1987
- Sphaeridium kolleri Orchymont, 1925
- Sphaeridium lunatum Fabricius, 1792
- Sphaeridium marginatum Fabricius, 1787
- Sphaeridium melanarium Gistel, 1831
- Sphaeridium ornatum Boheman, 1851
- Sphaeridium ortivum Orchymont, 1943
- Sphaeridium pellucidum Rossi, 1794
- Sphaeridium plagiatum Thunberg, 1794
- Sphaeridium punctiforme Schrank, 1798
- Sphaeridium quinquemaculatum Fabricius, 1798
- Sphaeridium rubrum Thunberg, 1794
- Sphaeridium ruficolle Frolich, 1792
- Sphaeridium rufipes Schrank, 1785
- Sphaeridium scarabaeoides (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Sphaeridium senegalense Laporte de Castelnau, 1840
- Sphaeridium seriatum Orchymont, 1913
- Sphaeridium severini Orchymont, 1919
- Sphaeridium sigillum Orchymont, 1943
- Sphaeridium simplicipes Marcuzzi, 1941
- Sphaeridium substriatum Faldermann, 1838
- Sphaeridium testudineum Rossi, 1794
- Sphaeridium thomsoni Orchymont, 1919
- Sphaeridium vaccarium Kugelann, 1798
- Sphaeridium vitalisi Orchymont, 1925
- Sphaeridium weiri Berge Henegouwen, 1992
References
- ^ Hanski, I. (1980). The three coexisting species of Sphaeridium (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae). Ann. Entomol. Fenn 46, 39-48.
- Watson, L. and Dallwitz, M. J. Sphaeridium. British Insects: Water Beetles. Version: 18 September 2012.
- Sowig, P. (1997). Predation among Sphaeridium larvae: the role of starvation and size differences (Coleoptera Hydrophilidae). Ethology Ecology & Evolution 9(3), 241-251.
- Sphaeridium. Fauna Europaea. Version 2.6.2.
Further reading
- Otronen, M., & Hanski, I. (1983). Movement patterns in Sphaeridium: differences between species, sexes, and feeding and breeding individuals. Journal of Animal Ecology 52, 663-680.