Ptinus fur
| Ptinus fur | |
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| Species: | P. fur
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| Ptinus fur | |
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Ptinus fur, the white marked spider beetle, is a species of spider beetle in the genus Ptinus (family Ptinidae), with a nearly cosmopolitan distribution.[1]
Description[edit]
Adults are morphologically similar to other spider beetle species, notably the hairy spider beetle (Ptinus villiger).[2] It is red-brown with yellow hairs, and measures 2.0–4.3 millimetres (0.08–0.17 in) in length. The prothorax is densely covered with pale hairs, while the elytra bear some patches of white scales.[1]
Distribution and Habitat[edit]
It is a pest of stored foods,[2] with a worldwide distribution, where it may be identified by leaving webbed, granular materials on the stored products.[2] Ptinus fur adults feed on dried and decaying animal and vegetable material.[2][3] It has also been identified as a pest in museums, damaging stored collections.[3]
It has been found in the nests of birds, notably the Sand Martin.[4]
Life cycle[edit]
The optimum temperature for rapid development of Ptinus fur is about 23 °C, at which temperature it completes its development in a mean period of 132 days.[5] Larvae of P. fur normally moult three times at 23°Cm but some have an extra moult.[5]
Well-defined diapause as mature larvae in cocoons occurs at low temperatures in some individuals of Ptinus fur: at 23 °C this lasts about 220 days after normal larvae have pupated; at 20 °C the period lasts about 280 days.[5]
Adult beetles live for several months.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Insect Fact Sheet 12. Spider Beetles & Biscuit Beetles" (PDF). Salford City Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Whitemarked spider beetle Ptinus fur (L.)". Canada Grain Commission, Government of Canada. 2013. Retrieved 2017-01-22.
- ^ a b Chinery, M. 2012. Insects of Britain and Western Europe (Domino Guides), Revised Edition. London: Bloomsbury. pp 274.
- ^ Kirstofik, J.; Sustek, Z. & Gajdos, P. (1994). "Arthropods in the nests of the Sand Martin (Riparia riparia Linnaeus, 1758) in South Slovakia". Biologia Bratislava.
- ^ a b c d Howe, R. W. & Burges, H. D. (1951). "Studies on Beetles of the Family Ptinidae.* VI.—The Biology of Ptinus fur (L.) and P. sexpunctatus Panzer". Bulletin of Entomological Research. 42 (3): 499. doi:10.1017/S0007485300028893.
External links[edit]