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The musk beetle (''Aromia moschata'') is a
The adults are usually found on leaves, especially those of the 
Eurasia
Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
n species of longhorn beetle
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than ...
belonging to the subfamily Cerambycinae, tribe Callichromatini
Callichromatini is a tribe of beetles in the subfamily Cerambycinae, which include the following genera:Bezark, Larry GA Photographic Catalog of the Cerambycidae of the World. Retrieved on 22 May 2012.
* '' Agaleptoides'' Lepesme, 1956
* '' Agal ...
. Its name comes from the delicate musky smell it emits when menaced. The beetle has a shell with an iridescence tone that changes with the angle of view. It has a hard shell around the thorax with hard sharp spines.
Description
This beetle is characterised by long antennae (like all other cerambycids) and a somewhat coppery or greenish metallic tint. The typical form, characterised by a pronotum with a metallic color, is widespread inEurope
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, except for most of Spain and Southern Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. In such regions, in North and East Africa, and in Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
to Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, the species is represented by some subspecies characterised by a more or less red pronotum. The antennae are longer than the entire head and body length in male and as long as body in females. Nevertheless, the Oriental subspecies have usually shorter antennae.
The musk beetle can be found in Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
locally, for example at Caldicot and Wentloog Levels—otherwise known as Gwent Levels SSSI
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
Biology
The adults are usually found on leaves, especially those of the willow
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...
trees, where the larva of this species lives. The secretion with the characteristic musky smell is produced in thoracic glands,and is expelled through openings located on the distal part of the metasternum
The metathorax is the posterior of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the third pair of legs. Its principal sclerites ( exoskeletal plates) are the metanotum (dorsal), the metasternum (ventral), and the metapleuron (lateral) ...
, near the hind legs articulation. The secretion was formerly supposed to contain salicylaldehyde or a salicylic ether, but there is now evidence that it consists instead mainly of four different monoterpenes
Monoterpenes are a class of terpenes that consist of two isoprene units and have the molecular formula C10H16. Monoterpenes may be linear (acyclic) or contain rings (monocyclic and bicyclic). Modified terpenes, such as those containing oxygen funct ...
, among which is rose oxide
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
, one of the most important fragrances in perfumery.
Subspecies
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1758
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus (Carl von Linné) publishes in Stockholm the first volume (''Animalia'') of the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'', the sta ...
)
* ''Aromia moschata orientalis'' Plavilstshikov, 1932
* ''Aromia moschata sumbarensis'' Danilevsky, 2007
* ''Aromia moschata vetusta'' Jankovsky, 1934
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musk Beetle Cerambycinae Beetles of Europe Beetles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus