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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » Tumbling Flower Beetles (Mordellidae) » Mordellistenini » Mordellistena » Mordellistena vapida
Photo#446041
mordellid10 - Mordellistena vapida
Copyright © 2010 Blaine Mathison

mordellid10 - Mordellistena vapida
Augusta, Richmond County, Georgia, USA
August 5, 2010
Size: 2 mm

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mordellid10 - Mordellistena vapida mordellid10 - Mordellistena vapida
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Contributed by Blaine Mathison on 23 August, 2010 - 1:41pm
Last updated 4 September, 2010 - 5:15pm

Moved
Moved from Tumbling Flower Beetles.

Yeah, I finally came to same conclusion :)
… Blaine Mathison, 4 September, 2010 - 5:15pm login or register to post comments

 
very close
they sure look very similar to me. I think Liljblad mentions a darkening of the upper abdominals for M. vapida, which yours seems to have here. But I've found his ridge counts are too "ridgid" in his key, where as his descriptions clearly should allow two different routes to the same species through the key.
… Tim Moyer, 6 September, 2010 - 10:20pm login or register to post comments

Mordellistena vapida
Believe this one to be Mordellistena vapida LeConte 1862. Uniform yellowish color (slightly darker over apical half of elytra), small size, and ridge shape and number point to this species. There's a couple of other pale small tumblers, but I believe the shape of the ridges on the tibia (parallel, stright across face, and ending short of middle of face) are key.

Compare with type seen at MCZ.

You are on a roll, and another new species for BugGuide :)
… Tim Moyer, 23 August, 2010 - 3:01pm login or register to post comments

 
M. errans Fall?
hey Tim,

What do you think about M. errans Fall, 1907? Looking at the specimen, and my image, it looks like there are two ridges on the second tarsal segment, which would support M. errans over M. vapida.

The MCZ type is here.

Please let me know what you think.
… Blaine Mathison, 23 August, 2010 - 5:16pm login or register to post comments

 
but yeah
the shape of the tibial ridges supports vapida...Grrr...
… Blaine Mathison, 25 August, 2010 - 10:57am login or register to post comments

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