abdominal short-winged flower beetle

not listed

not listed

not listed

Abdominal short-winged flower beetle is a small beetle. It occurs in the United States from New Hampshire and New York, south to Georgia, and west to Minnesota and Texas, and in southern Canada from Quebec to Manitoba. Though uncommon, it often occurs in large numbers. Adults are found in spring and summer, mostly on flowers, in a wide variety of habitats, including woodlands, wetlands, and semideserts. They are generalist feeders, feeding on the petals and pollen of a broad assortment of flowers. They are found on plants that host the larvae only during mating and egg laying. Larvae develop in seeds.

Adults are 1⁄16″ to ⅛″ (2.0 to 3.0 mm) in length. The body is very compact, oval, and somewhat elongated when viewed from above, convex when viewed from the side. The head, the plate covering the thorax (pronotum), and the hardened wing covers (elytra) are deep metallic bluish-green, are distinctly pitted (punctate), and appear hairless.

The head is horizontal, and the mouthparts are directed forward or nearly so (prognathous). It is only weakly constricted behind the eyes. There is no transverse ridge (occipital carina) at the back of the head. The compound eyes are moderately convex and are only weakly protruding. The jaws (mandibles) are short and sharp. They are not visible from above. The “under jaws” (maxillae) located behind the mandibles, have two lobes, the galea and the lacina. The antennae have eleven segments. They are pale and are weakly clubbed. The last three segments, which form the club, are dark and are enlarged but are not extended to one side.

The pronotum is widest beyond the middle. The rear corners are angled inward. The rear margin is almost straight. The small plate between the wing bases (scutellum), is large, obvious, and curved.

The elytra are short and do not completely cover the abdomen. They are not grooved. The exposed last two segments of the abdomen are reddish.

The legs are robust and reddish. The fourth segment (tibia) of each leg has two spurs at the tip. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments. The claws at the end of each tarsus are simple, not split.

Total length: 1⁄16″ to ⅛″ (2.0 to 3.0 mm)

A wide variety of habitats

Spring and summer

Adults are active fliers

Seeds

Flower petals and pollen

Sources

24, 29, 30, 82.

Uncommon

Family
The genus was formerly included in the family Nitidulidae (sap beetles).

Genus
This species was formerly the only species in the genus Boreades. In 1993 that genus was relegated to a subgenus of Heterhelus.

Location: Carley State Park