Sphaeridium Pellucidum

''Sphaeridium'' is a genus of beetles in the family Hydrophilidae, the water scavenger beetles. They occur in Europe, and some species have been introduced to North America.Hanski, I. (1980)
The three coexisting species of ''Sphaeridium'' (Coleoptera, Hydrophilidae).
''Ann. Entomol. Fenn'' 46, 39-48.

Description

The adults are 4 to 7.5 millimeters long. They have short antennae with hairy clubs at the tips.

These beetles live in cow dung. The adults feed on the dung and other organic matter, but the beetle larvae are predators of the maggots of the flies that breed in the dung, such as the face fly (''Musca autumnalis''). Two or more ''Sphaeridium'' beetle species may coexist in one pat, and the larvae may feed on each other. The female beetle deposits several eggs encased in a cocoon.Sowig, P. (1997)
Predation among ''Sphaeridium'' larvae: the role of starvation and size differences (Coleoptera Hydrophilidae).
''Ethology Ecology & Evolution'' 9(3), 241-251.

Species

Species include:''Sphaeridium''.
Fauna Europaea. Version 2.6.2.

*''Sphaeridium abbreviatum'' Boheman, 1851
*''Sphaeridium abditum'' Orchymont, 1943
*''Sphaeridium abductum'' J.Balfour-Browne, 1950
*''Sphaeridium affine'' Berge Henegouwen, 1987
*''Sphaeridium aschenborni'' Berge Henegouwen, 1992
*''Sphaeridium balfourbrownei'' M.Hansen, 1999
*''Sphaeridium bipunctatum'' Thunberg, 1794
*'' Sphaeridium bipustulatum'' Fabricius, 1781
*''Sphaeridium bisinuatum'' J.Balfour-Browne, 1950
*''Sphaeridium bottegoi'' Marcuzzi, 1941
*''Sphaeridium braziliense'' Berge Henegouwen, 1986
*''Sphaeridium caffrum'' Laporte de Castelnau, 1840
*''Sphaeridium chrysomelinum'' (Klug, 1833)
*''Sphaeridium circumcinctum'' Régimbart, 1907
*''Sphaeridium corradinii'' Marcuzzi, 1941
*''Sphaeridium daemonicum'' Fikáček & Kropáček, 2015
*''Sphaeridium densepunctatum'' Berlov & Shatrovskiy, 1989
*''Sphaeridium dimidiatum'' Gory, 1834
*''Sphaeridium discolor'' Orchymont, 1933
*''Sphaeridium dolum'' J.Balfour-Browne, 1950
*''Sphaeridium exile'' Boheman, 1851
*''Sphaeridium eximium'' Berge Henegouwen, 1992
*''Sphaeridium fallaciosum'' J.Balfour-Browne, 1950
*'' Sphaeridium flavomaculatum'' Orchymont, 1924
*'' Sphaeridium huijbregtsi'' Berge Henegouwen, 1986
*''Sphaeridium inopinatum'' J.Balfour-Browne, 1958
*'' Sphaeridium inquinatum'' Kugelann, 1798
*''Sphaeridium jongemai'' Berge Henegouwen, 1987
*''Sphaeridium kolleri'' Orchymont, 1925
*''Sphaeridium lunatum'' Fabricius, 1792
*''Sphaeridium marginatum'' Fabricius, 1787
*''Sphaeridium melanarium'' Gistel, 1831
*''Sphaeridium ornatum'' Boheman, 1851
*''Sphaeridium ortivum'' Orchymont, 1943
*'' Sphaeridium pellucidum'' Rossi, 1794
*''Sphaeridium plagiatum'' Thunberg, 1794
*''Sphaeridium punctiforme'' Schrank, 1798
*'' Sphaeridium quinquemaculatum'' Fabricius, 1798
*''Sphaeridium rubrum'' Thunberg, 1794
*''Sphaeridium ruficolle'' Frolich, 1792
*''Sphaeridium rufipes'' Schrank, 1785
*''Sphaeridium scarabaeoides'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
*''Sphaeridium senegalense'' Laporte de Castelnau, 1840
*''Sphaeridium seriatum'' Orchymont, 1913
*''Sphaeridium severini'' Orchymont, 1919
*''Sphaeridium sigillum'' Orchymont, 1943
*'' Sphaeridium simplicipes'' Marcuzzi, 1941
*''Sphaeridium substriatum'' Faldermann, 1838
*''Sphaeridium testudineum'' Rossi, 1794
*''Sphaeridium thomsoni'' Orchymont, 1919
*''Sphaeridium vaccarium'' Kugelann, 1798
*''Sphaeridium vitalisi'' Orchymont, 1925
*''Sphaeridium weiri'' Berge Henegouwen, 1992

References

Further reading

*Otronen, M., & Hanski, I. (1983)
Movement patterns in ''Sphaeridium'': differences between species, sexes, and feeding and breeding individuals.
''Journal of Animal Ecology'' 52, 663-680.

{{Taxonbar, from=Q10675002

Hydrophilidae genera