Csóka, György and Kovács, Tibor (1999): Xilofág rovarok - Xylophagous insects. Hungarian Forest Research Institute. Erdészeti Turományos Intézet, Agroinform Kiadó, Budapest, 189 pp. In spite of the misleading name of the family many xylophagous insects belong to this group. The family includes species showing a wide diversity of size, shape and life history. The most characteristic common feature of these species is the terminal bulb of the antennae (which are elbowed, as in stag beetles); this is 3-7 segmented, shiny and smooth. The species included in this book belong to 3 families (with genera in brackets): Trichiinae (Osmoderma, Gnorimus), Cetoniinae (Cetonischema, Liocola, Potosia) and Dynastinae (Oryctes). Their adult body lengths range from 2.5 mm to 45 mm. Sexual dimorphism is evident in some species (Osmoderma and Oryctes for example). All of them are saproxylic, larvae developing in humid decaying wood. They make a pupal case from wood fragments. The larvae are grub-like, the anus - in contrast to stag beetles - is a transversal split. The majority of the adults hide during the day, becoming active at dusk. Other - usually shiny and colourful species favour the sunshine. In flight they search for food such as woodsap, fermenting fruits and flowers. In the subfamily Cetoniinae the wingcases are closed even during flight. [ Contents ] [ Previous ] [ Next ] [ Hungarian Version ] |