reticulated net-winged beetle

(Calopteron reticulatum)

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

 
reticulated net-winged beetle
Photo by Greg Watson
 
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 to 1116 (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: to 1116 (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

 

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 24, 27, 29, 30, 82, 83.

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)

10/3/2024    
     

Occurrence

Common

Taxonomy

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

 

   

Synonyms

Calopteron reticulatus

Calopteron retiferum

Digrapha affinis

Digrapha typica

Lycus reticulatus

   

Common Names

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.

 

 

 

 

Visitor Photos
 

Share your photo of this insect.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption.

Greg Watson

reticulated net-winged beetle

Landed right in front of me on a leaf. Of course I had to take its picture. This one was confirmed on iNaturalist.

MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
   

 

   

 

 

Camera

Slideshows

 

 
 

 

slideshow

Visitor Videos
 

Share your video of this insect.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link.

 

 

 
 
Other Videos

Calopteron reticulatum (September 25, 2020)
Little Creatures / Criaturitas

About

Jan 29, 2022

Mayate de alas articuladas de la familia Lycidae( Calopteron reticulatum)
BeniRootz

About

Sep 25, 2023

Spying on a Reticulated Net-Winged Beetle
FlyTrapMan

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

 

Camcorder

Visitor Sightings
 

Report a sighting of this insect.

 

This button not working for you?
Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com.
Be sure to include a location.

Greg Watson
7/31/2024

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.

reticulated net-winged beetle
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings

 

 

Binoculars

 

Created: 10/3/2024

Last Updated:

© MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved.

About Us

Privacy Policy

Contact Us