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Family Melyridae
- This page contains information and pictures about Red and Blue Beetles that we
found in the Brisbane area, Queensland, Australia. This beetle also known as
Pollen Beetles.
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- Body length 8mm
- The beetle is bright red in
colour with four metallic blue spots on the elytra. The above pictures were taken during mid summer.
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- This species of beetles
are partly predacious. They search over plants during the day. They eat eggs,
larvae and other slow-moving insects. On rice crops, they have been found feeding
on pollen. The egg, larval and pupa stages are in the soil.
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- The
above photos show a female. Male has the antenna 3rd segment
enlarged.
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- We
thought this was a Leaf Beetle. Douglas LeDoux
from Columbia sent us email advised that this should be a Melyridae. Then we
narrowed down it is a Dicranolaius bellulus.
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- Reference:
- 1. Dicranolaius spp. - Australian Insect Common Names, AICN version 1.53, CSIRO 2005.
- 2.
A guide to the Genera of Beetles of South Australia Part.6 - Matthews, E.G.
1992, Fig110.
- 3. Insects
of Australia, CSIRO, Division of Entomology, Melbourne University
Press, 2nd Edition 1991, p 647,Fig35.45C.
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