Black pollen beetle

Copidita sp.

Description:

This little hand-sucker beetle had dark metallic elytra with slight tints of aqua, reddish legs and mouth parts, and was about 22mm long.

Habitat:

It fell from the branches of a pomaderris in a nature reserve incorporating stringybark, acacias, pomaderris, pittosporum, assorted woody shrubs and grasses.

Notes:

I couldn't convince it to open it's wings so the abdomen colour is unknown.
family: OEDEMERIDAE
subfamily: OEDEMERINAE
http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:b...

1 Species ID Suggestions

stho002 10 years ago

Black pollen beetle

Copidita sp. Black Pollen Beetle - Copidita sp.

6 Comments

Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

Thanks Stephen.. 'pollen beetle' really is a better name.

JoeHartman 10 years ago

Haha, that's why it's called False... BTW I found a new name in use: Pollen feeding Beetles.
Here is some literature to expel other families from Oedemenidae:
Adult beetles in the family Oedemeridae have a length of 5 to 12 mm. Their tarsi have five segments on front and middle legs and four segments on the hind legs (tarsal formula 5-5-4). The next to last segment is heart shaped with a pad beneath. Tarsal claws are entire or with a small basal tooth. The pronotum is without lateral ridges (which separate them from the Cantharidae and Lampyridae which they somewhat resemble). The pronotum is widest in the front half, narrowing toward elytra (which separate them from the Meloidae, true "blister beetles," which have the pronotum narrowed in front). The head is porrect (extending forward horizontally) and in the same plane as the thorax, with prominent mandibles which may be entire at tips, or one, or both, bifid (celft or divided into two parts). The maxillary palpi have the apical segment somewhat enlarged and usually triangular. The eyes are usually emarginate near the base of the antennae. The elytra is entire, sides more or less parallel, their apices rounded.