 |
|||||||
|
|||||||
Tesarius Rakovic 1981
Tesarius Rakovic 1981: 27.
Photo by Paul Skelley.
|
||
|
|
||
| Aphodiinae Overview | ||
| Psammodiini Key |
Type species. Phycochus sulcipennis Lea 1904: 89, by original designation.
Diagnosis. Body length 2.8-3.6 mm, globose, dark reddish-brown to black, dorsal surfaces glabrous. Head surface granulate, frontal suture present, often indistinct, eyes greatly reduced. Clypeus rounded each side of median emargination. Pronotum with vestiges of 3 transverse grooves, some indicated by irregular rows of punctures. Elytra shortened, rounded, base margined; intervals flattened to moderately convex, interval 10 present well into apical quarter of elytra. Metafemur robust. Metatibia curved, greatly widened at apex; with complete median transverse carina prominent. Metatarsi shortened; basal segment triangular. Hind wing reduced to strap.
Distribution. Western North America and Tasmania, introduced into England (Johnson 1975), Chile (Skelley 2001), New Zealand (Stebnicka 2001).
Composition. Worldwide, Tesarius contains 5 species, 4 of which occur in the New World.
Tesarius caelatus (LeConte 1857: 42) [Aegialia], W-N.Amer.; N. Zeal., UK and Chile (introduced, Stebnicka 2001, Johnson 1975, Skelley 2001).
Tesarius doyeni (Cartwright 1977: 281) [Psammodius], CA-USA.
Tesarius mcclayi (Cartwright 1955: 448) [Psammodius], CA-USA.
Tesarius oregonensis (Cartwright 1955: 445) [Psammodius], CA to WA-USA.
Life History. Adults are sifted from sand dunes, both inland and coastal in the western US.
Larvae. The larva of T. oregonensis has been described in Ritcher (1966).
References:
Rakovic, M. 1984. A review of the genus Tesarius Rakovic (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Aphodiinae). Acta Entomologica Bohemoslovaca 81: 448-452.
Ritcher, P.O. 1966. White grubs and their allies: A study of North American scarabaeoid larvae. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, Oregon. Studies in Entomology 4: 219 pp.
|
||||
| Author: Paul Skelley Generated on: 09/MAY/08.....Last modified: 09/MAY/08 University of Nebraska State Museum - Division of Entomology |