Mylabris variabilis
| Mylabris variabilis | |
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| Mylabris variabilis. Dorsal view | |
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| Species: | M. variabilis
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| Mylabris variabilis (Pallas, 1782)
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Mylabris variabilis is a species of blister beetle belonging to the Meloidae family.
Subspecies
- Mylabris variabilis var. disrupta Baudi, 1878
- Mylabris variabilis var. lacera Fischer von Waldheim, 1827
- Mylabris variabilis var. mutabilis Mars
- Mylabris variabilis var. sturmi Baudi
Distribution
This common species is present in most of Southern Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula to southern Russia. [2] It can also be found in Caucaus and Transcaucasia, Near East and northern Levant, Middle East and Central Asia and Siberia. [3]
Description
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Mylabris variabilis can reach a body length of 8–20 millimetres (0.31–0.79 in).[3] These beetles have a cylindrical, elongate body with relatively convex, yellow-orange elytra and wide transverse black wavy stripes. Head is square shaped, with a flat forehead. Antennae are black and long with eleven segments. Pronotum is long and wide, with parallel sides. [4] The size of the black markings and the color of elytra are very variable[3] (hence the specie name variabilis). Normally they have three black bands. The 1st and 2nd bands are sometimes divided into four distinct spots. [4] They are however distinguished from the similar species by a black stripe ath the end of the abdomen. This species is very similar to Mylabris pannonica Kaszab, 1956.
Biology
This species has a very complex biological cycle. Adults fly from June to September, feeding on flowers. During the larval stage they feed on eggs and larvae of grasshoppers. [3]
Bibliography
- Heiko Bellmann (1999): Der Neue Kosmos Insektenführer. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart. ISBN 3-440-07682-2
- Heiko Bellmann: Insectes d'Europe, Artemis, Poche nature 2007, (ISBN 978-2-84416-525-1)
- Michael Chinery, Insectes de France et d'Europe occidentale, Paris, Flammarion, août 2012, 320 p. (ISBN 978-2-0812-8823-2), p. 276
- Nikbakhtzadeh M.R., Tirgari S., 2002. Blister Beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) in Nahavand County (Hamedan Province, Iran) and Their Ecological Relationship to Other Coleopteran Families, Iranian J. Publ. Health, Vol. 31, Nos. 1-2, PP. 55-62.
- Özbek H., Szaloki D., 1998. A contribution to the knowledge of the Meloidae (Coleoptera) fauna of Turkey along with new records, TÜBİTAK, Tr. J. of Zoology 22, 23-40.