''Passalus punctiger'', common name passalid beetle, is a
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 ...
of the family
Passalidae
Passalidae is a family of beetles known variously as "bessbugs", "bess beetles", "betsy beetles" or "horned passalus beetles". Nearly all of the 500-odd species are tropical; species found in North America are notable for their size, ranging from ...
.
Description
''Passalus punctiger'' can reach a length of about . Body is flattened and completely black, with yellowish hairs on elytral shoulders and anterior sides. Elytra show deep grooves and a strong punctation. Antennae have long lamellae.
[Fauna of Paraguay]
/ref>
Distribution and habitat
This species occurs in Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and in Central and Southern America up to Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
and Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. It also is present on the Galapagos Islands. It can be found in humid forest areas at an elevation of above sea level.[
]
Life cycle
These beetles live under and inside rotten logs. Females lay eggs are in tunnels into the wood. This species has one brood or generation per year (univoltine
Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism.
...
).[José R.C. Mouzinhoa, Claudio R.V. da Fonsecaa & Márcio L.L. Barbosa]
The influence of flood pulses on the reproductive strategy of two species of passalid beetle in the fluvial archipelago of Anavilhanas, Amazon, Brazil
Journal of Natural History Volume 44, Issue 9-10, 2010
Gallery
File:Passalus punctiger.jpg, ''Passalus punctiger''
File:Passalus punctiger variation sjh.jpg, Adult variation
References
Passalidae
Beetles of North America
Beetles of South America
Arthropods of Colombia
Insects of Mexico
Insects of the United States
Fauna of the Southwestern United States
{{Passalidae-stub