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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » Blister Beetles (Meloidae) » Meloinae » Epicautini » Epicauta » subgenus Epicauta (Epicauta subgenus Epicauta) » Cinerea Group (Epicauta Cinerea Group)

Cinerea Group

Classification · Numbers · Identification · Works Cited
Unknown beetle 640 - Epicauta funebris unknown black beetle - Epicauta pensylvanica Coleoptera - Epicauta floridensis another beetle for ID - Epicauta Margined Blister Beetle? - Epicauta Margined Blister Beetle? - Epicauta Clematis Blister Beetle - Epicauta cinerea Linsleya suavissima? - Epicauta pensylvanica
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Tenebrionoidea
Family Meloidae (Blister Beetles)
Subfamily Meloinae
Tribe Epicautini
Genus Epicauta
No Taxon (subgenus Epicauta)
No Taxon Cinerea Group
Numbers
6 spp. in our area (flobcina & obesa not yet in the guide) + 6 spp. restricted to Mexico(1)
Identification
Marschalek (2013) separates the spp. as follows:
[colour pattern ignored for the variable species]
1. inner metatibial spur not distinctly broadened and obliquely truncate apically, outer spur only slightly broader than inner spur; antennae with elongate, curved, exserted setae on anteroventral surface of segments IV-XI; antennomere I relatively short, bulbous => E. cinerea
outer tibial spur broadened, obliquely truncate apically, usually noticeably broader than inner spur; if spurs of subequal width, then both are obliquely truncate => 2
2. maxillary palpus elongate, most noticeably so in the male, length of palpomere IV greater than eye width in both sexes; antennae elongate, slender, length of antennomere IV at least 2.5× width; hind tibial spurs moderately broadened and obliquely truncate apically => E. funebris
maxillary palpus not elongate, length of palpomere IV ≤ eye width in both sexes; antennae shorter, less slender, length of antennomere IV approximately 2× width => 3
3. vestiture of head, pronotum and elytra black => E. pensylvanica
vestiture of head, pronotum and elytra not black => 4
4. antennomeres IV and V submoniliform, shorter than following antennomeres, their anterior surface not flattened; length of antennomere IV <0.9× that of VIII; antennomeres IV-X each with a circlet of moderately long, exserted setae apically => E. flobcina
antennomeres IV and V more elongate, length of each ≥ following antennomeres, their anterior surface flattened or not; antennomeres IV-X each with exserted setae either not forming a circlet, or not as obvious as above => E. obesa

E. flobcina is greyish to light brown, E. obesa has vestiture cinereous to dark brown.
Works Cited
1.The taxonomy of North American Epicauta (Coleoptera: Meloidae) with a revision of the nominate subgenus...
Pinto J.D. 1991. Univ. Calif. Publ. Entomol. 110: 372 pp.
Contributed by v belov on 26 November, 2010 - 5:50pm
Additional contributions by Boris Bueche
Last updated 4 January, 2024 - 3:52pm

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