Genus Malachius

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Habitat · Remarks · Works Cited

melyrid - Malachius capillicornis - male

Scarlet Malachite Beetle - Malachius aeneus - male

scarlet malachite beetle - Malachius aeneus - female

Malachius.... - Malachius capillicornis - male

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)

Superfamily Cleroidea

Family Melyridae (Soft-winged Flower Beetles)

Subfamily Malachiinae

Tribe Malachiini

Subtribe Malachiina

Genus Malachius

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Clanoptilus Motschulsky 1853 (still treated here as subgenus, although usually considered to be a genus)

Explanation of Names

Malachius Fabricius 1775

Numbers

26 spp. in our area, all but the adventive M. aeneus are in Clanoptilus(1)

Habitat

in our area, all the native spp. except M. ulkei are western, esp. diverse in CA (21 spp.), about a dozen reach Canada(1)(2)

Remarks

A problem with the North American Malachius is that all but Malachius aeneus (the type species) belong in some other genus. Most of the Old World species with modified elytra have been placed in the genus Clanoptilus. For most of these the way in which the elytra are modified is very different from the NA species, and it is still unclear where the North American species belong, but for now can remain in Malachius as incertae sedis. (A.J. Mayor's pers. comm. to =v= 5/10/10)

Works Cited

1.	American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.

2.	California Beetle Project

Contributed by Phillip Harpootlian on 9 August, 2005 - 9:43am
Additional contributions by Hartmut Wisch, v belov
Last updated 23 December, 2013 - 7:05pm

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