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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Click, Firefly and Soldier Beetles (Elateroidea) » Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae) » Cantharinae » Cantharini » Rhaxonycha » Carolina Cantharid (Rhaxonycha carolina)

Species Rhaxonycha carolina - Carolina Cantharid

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Remarks · Works Cited
Illinois data point - Rhaxonycha carolina Lightening bug?? - Rhaxonycha carolina Soldier Beetle - Rhaxonycha carolina beetle - Rhaxonycha carolina Beetle - Rhaxonycha carolina Bench beetle - Rhaxonycha carolina Firefly - Rhaxonycha carolina Rhaxonycha carolina? - Rhaxonycha carolina
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Elateroidea (Click, Firefly and Soldier Beetles)
Family Cantharidae (Soldier Beetles)
Subfamily Cantharinae
Tribe Cantharini
Genus Rhaxonycha
Species carolina (Carolina Cantharid)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Rhaxonycha carolina (Fabricius 1801)
=Cantharis carolinus
Size
9-11 mm
Identification
Medium-sized cantharid with all-dark elytra. Pronotum yellow, with orangish edges. Similar to Ancistronycha dentiger, but the latter is smaller and has a yellow edge to elytra(1)
Range
e. NA (PQ-MN-TX-FL)(2)
Season
Spring-early summer (April-June in NC, May-June in MN)
Remarks
many Cantharidae have this basic pattern -- dark elytra, pale pronotum with a central dark spot. Many Lampyridae must be part of the same (Mullerian?) mimicry complex as well. Lampyridae are very toxic and serve as models in the complex. (J.S. Rose, pers. comm.)
Works Cited
1.A Manual of Common Beetles of Eastern North America
By Dillon, Elizabeth S., and Dillon, Lawrence
2.A Distributional Checklist of the Beetles (Coleoptera) of Florida
Contributed by Cotinis on 27 April, 2004 - 8:10pm
Additional contributions by v belov
Last updated 5 May, 2011 - 8:25am

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