Cremastocheilus nitens

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Cremastocheilus nitens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Scarabaeidae
Subfamily: Cetoniinae
Tribe: Cremastocheilini
Genus: Cremastocheilus
Subgenus: Cremastocheilus
Species: C. nitens
Binomial name
Cremastocheilus nitens
LeConte, 1853

One of about thirty-five species of myrmecophilous Cremastocheilus. The host ant is Formica.

Identification

Holotype

Body brownish black, shining; mentum deeply concave, posterior margin produced, pointed; pronotum strongly narrowed in front; anterior angles not acute, deeply foveate; posterior angles forming a round shining tubercle, separated by a deep cut from the body of the pronotum; elytra covered with moderately close, rounded shallow punctures bearing short yellow hairs.

Distribution

Kansas (Clark Co., Reno Co.), Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska (Thomas Co.), North Dakota (Foster Co., Carrington, 14 November, 2012, Ransom Co., Richland Co.), Oklahoma (Woodard Co.), South Dakota (Bennett Co., Brown Co.).

Habitat

Common host is Formica.

Biology

There are no ant host records for Cremastocheilus nitens. Hays and McColloch (1928) collected 21 larvae from ant nests under fallen logs on sand dunes but did not record the genus or species of ant.

Nomenclature

Type: Missouri Territory, no date, one specimen described by LeConte (1853).


Description

References

  • Alpert, Gary D. 1994. A Comparative Study of the Symbiotic Relationship Between Beetles of the Genus Cremastocheilus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and their Host Ants (Hymenoptera:Formicidae). Sociobiology 25(1).
  • Lago, P.K., R.L. Post, and C.Y. Oseto. 1979. The phytophagous Scarabaeidae and Troginae (Coleoptera) of North Dakota. North Dakota Insects Pub. No. 12, Schafer-Post series. January.