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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae) » Mordellini » Mordella

Genus Mordella

Tumbling Flower Beetle - Mordella marginata Found in Thistle - Mordella Tumbling Flower Beetle - Mordella marginata Mordella marginata? - Mordella marginata tumbling flower beetle sp. - Mordella Genus Mordella? - Mordella Mordella quadripunctata Mordella atrata? - Mordella
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 Mordellidae (Tumbling Flower Beetles)
Tribe Mordellini
Genus Mordella
Explanation of Names
Mordella Linnaeus 1758
Numbers
25 species in our area*(1); a huge number worldwide (most in need of reconfirmation concerning generic placement)

[*: + angulata LeConte, 1878; brevistylis Liljeblad, 1922; capillosa Liljeblad, 1945; cinereoatra Liljeblad, 1945; deserta Casey, 1885;
fuscocinerea Fall, 1907; invisitata Liljeblad, 1945; latemaculata Ray, 1944; longipalpis Ray, 1946; novemnotata Ray, 1944;
pretiosa Champion, 1891; schwarzi Liljeblad, 1945]
Size
3-8 mm
Identification
Antennae strongly sawtoothed to clubbed. Each hind tibia has tubercles, but not ridges, on its outer surface, near the tip. Usually black but some have a pattern of light colored hairs on their elytra.
Food
Larvae in dead wood.
Works Cited
1.A catalog of Coleoptera of America north of Mexico. Family: Mordellidae
Bright D.E. 1986. USDA Agric. handbook no. 529-125. viii+22 pp.
Contributed by Beatriz Moisset on 2 June, 2005 - 7:33am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Boris Bueche, v belov
Last updated 23 June, 2022 - 4:37am

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