(Calopteron reticulatum)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
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Description |
Reticulated net-winged beetle is a common, brightly colored, medium sized beetle. It occurs in the United States from the East Coast to the Great Plains, in southern Quebec and Ontario Canada, in southern Mexico, and in Central America. Adults are found on flowers and on vegetation. They are short lived, and they are believed to feed on flower nectar. The larvae live in rotten logs, under loose bark, or occasionally in leaf litter. They feed on slime molds, fungi, and fermenting plant juices. They may also be predaceous, feeding on small arthropods. Adults are soft bodied and ⅜″ to 11⁄16″ (9.5 to 18.0 mm) in length. The overall shape is somewhat triangular and flattened. The head is black and small. When it is retracted, the head is covered up to the rear margin of the eyes by the plate covering the first segment of the thorax (pronotum). The antennae are flat, strongly saw-toothed, and mostly black. They are more than half as long as the body and they have 11 segments. The second segment is very short, wider than long, and partially concealed by the end of the first segment. The second segment and several of the following segments are partially reddish brown on the upper side. The eyes are moderately sized and well-spaced. They are larger on the male than on the female. The mouthparts are directed downwards, nearly vertical. The pronotum is orange with a broad, black, longitudinal stripe in the middle. It is small, more or less pentagon shaped, and more than one-and-a-half times wider than long. It is broadest in the rear and tapered on the sides. The rear margin has two shallow concave curves joined with a convex curve in the middle (bisinuate). The front margin is shallowly rounded. The lateral margins are broadly and distinctly flattened (margined). The front angles are broadly rounded. The rear angles are produced outward and backward to a point. There is a distinctly raised, longitudinal ridge (carina) in the middle. The small plate between the wing bases (scutellum) is black. The underside of the thorax is mostly black, but the plate on the third thoracic segment (metasternum) is reddish brown at the front middle. The abdomen is usually entirely black, but the sides of the abdomen are sometimes reddish brown. The wing covers (elytra) are soft, leathery, and long, extending well beyond the tip of the abdomen. They are evenly broadened from the base to about three-fourths their length, then broadly rounded at the tip. Each elytron has four longitudinal, distinctly raised veins connected by numerous less distinct cross veins. Veins 2 and 4 are higher than veins 1 and 3, and they extend almost to the tip. The elytra are orange with the rear two-fifths black, and with a variable, black, horizontal band before the middle (median band). The median band tends to narrow near the lateral margins. It has a narrow extension on the inner margin to the base (sutural extension). The sutural extension is parallel sided, not widest at the scutellum. It is sometimes reduced to a narrow dash by the scutellum. It is rarely entirely absent. The legs are stout and strongly flattened. They are usually entirely black, but the bases of the legs are sometimes reddish brown. The basal segments (coxae) of all legs are widely separated. The last part of each leg (tarsus), corresponding to the foot, has five segments. The first four segments are densely hairy below. The last segment has a pair of claws at the tip. The claws are not toothed or divided, and they are equal in length. |
Size |
Total length: ⅜″ to 11⁄16″ (9.5 to 18.0 mm) |
Similar Species |
Banded net-wing beetle (Calopteron discrepans) is very similar in appearance. The median band tends to be broad all the way to the lateral margins, and the extension is expanded at the base, widest at the scutellum. It is much less common. |
Habitat |
Moist woodlands |
Biology |
Season |
June through August |
Behavior |
Adults are active during the day. |
Life Cycle |
Eggs are laid on dead and decaying trees. When a suitable location is found, several to many females will lay their eggs in the same spot, leading eventually to large congregations of larvae. The larvae pupate in large congregations, forming a shingled mass often containing hundreds of pupae. |
Larva Food |
Small arthropods |
Adult Food |
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Distribution |
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Sources The Lycidae of the United States and Canada. IV. The Tribe Calopterini (Coleoptera) John Wagener Green Transactions of the American Entomological Society (1890-), Vol. 78, No. 1 (Mar., 1952), pp. 1-19 (21 pages) |
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10/3/2024 | ||
Occurrence |
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Common |
Taxonomy |
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Order |
Coleoptera (beetles) |
Suborder |
Polyphaga (water, rove, scarab, long-horned, leaf, and snout beetles) |
Infraorder |
Elateriformia |
Superfamily |
Elateroidea (click, firefly and soldier beetles) |
Family |
Lycidae (net-winged beetles) |
Subfamily |
Lycinae |
Tribe |
Calopterini |
Genus |
Calopteron |
Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Calopteron reticulatus Calopteron retiferum Digrapha affinis Digrapha typica Lycus reticulatus |
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Common Names |
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banded net-winged beetle reticulated net-winged beetle |
Glossary
Carina
An elevated keel or ridge.
Coxa
The first segment of the leg of an insect, attaching the leg to the body, and connected to the trochanter. Plural: coxae.
Elytra
The hardened or leathery forewings of beetles used to protect the fragile hindwings, which are used for flying. Singular: elytron.
Pronotum
The exoskeletal plate on the upper side of the first segment of the thorax of an insect.
Scutellum
The exoskeletal plate covering the rearward (posterior) part of the middle segment of the thorax in some insects. In Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera, the dorsal, often triangular plate behind the pronotum and between the bases of the front wings. In Diptera, the exoskeletal plate between the abdomen and the thorax.
Tarsus
On insects, the last two to five subdivisions of the leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. On spiders, the last segment of the leg. Plural: tarsi.
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Greg Watson |
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Landed right in front of me on a leaf. Of course I had to take its picture. This one was confirmed on iNaturalist. |
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Other Videos |
Calopteron reticulatum (September 25, 2020) |
About
Jan 29, 2022 |
Mayate de alas articuladas de la familia Lycidae( Calopteron reticulatum) |
About
Sep 25, 2023 |
Spying on a Reticulated Net-Winged Beetle |
About
Sep 3, 2015 Net-winged reticulated beetles are curious biological entities, which I absolutely know nothing about. Camera: Canon Rebel T5i Lens: Canon EF 100mm Macro USM |
Visitor Sightings |
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Greg Watson |
Location: Great River Bluffs State Park Landed right in front of me on a leaf. Of course I had to take its picture. This one was confirmed on iNaturalist. |
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Created: 10/3/2024 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |