''Endomychus coccineus'', common name scarlet endomychus or false ladybird, is a species of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s in the family
Endomychidae
Endomychidae, or handsome fungus beetles, is a family of beetles with representatives found in all biogeographic realms. There are around 120 genera and 1300 species. The family was established based on the type genus '' Endomychus'', a genus ere ...
.
Description
''Endomychus coccineus'' can reach a length of about . The body is oval, convex and the sides of pronotum are almost straight. Head and legs are black. Pronotum is glossy red, with a black longitudinal area. Elytra are glossy red, each elytron shows two large oval black spots. In rare cases, the pronotum is completely red, the black spots on the elytra may be totally or partially missing. The flight time is from April to June.
The larvae are dark brown with yellow to orange spots symmetrically located in the lateral region of the segmented body, in each case at the head shield, and on the third, fourth, eighth and tenth segment.
Distribution and habitat
This species is present in most of Europe, especially in the deciduous forests.
[Hallan, Joe]
Synopsis of the described Coleoptera of the World
Biology
Larvae of ''Endomychus coccineus'' feed on wood mushrooms, especially on old birch and beech stumps and on deciduous trees affected by the silver leaf fungus ''
Chondrostereum purpureum
Silver leaf is a fungal disease of trees caused by the fungus plant pathogen ''Chondrostereum purpureum''. It attacks most species of the rose family Rosaceae, particularly the genus ''Prunus''. The disease is progressive and often fatal. The comm ...
''.
[Dmitry S. Schigel - Fungivory of saproxylic Coleoptera: the mystery of rejected polypores]
References
External links
Images on Mocroid.ru
Beetles described in 1758
Endomychidae
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
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