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Cantharis

Cantharis is a large genus of soldier beetles in the family Cantharidae. They are a carnivorous genus with narrow and soft elytra. They live in meadows.

The poisonous Spanish fly is superficially similar and is associated with the scientific name Cantharis vesicatoria. It is also sometimes called "cantharis" in the vernacular, but it is actually unrelated to Cantharis and is not a member of the Cantharidae at all. It was classified there erroneously until Johan Christian Fabricius corrected its name in his Systema entomologiae in 1775. He reclassified the Spanish fly in the new genus Lytta as Lytta vesicatoria. It belongs to the family Meloidae.

Habitat

They live in meadows and arable land likely due to favorable microclimatic conditions for their larva which prefer high relative humidity. They occurred in high abundance.

Behavior

Both the adults and larva of this genus are, at least, partially carnivorous playing a role in arthropod communities. They will prey on a variety of invertebrates, particularly soft-bodied species, such as earthworms, dipteran larvae and lepidopteran larvae. However their predation on invertebrates might be low under natural conditions with adults probably feeding mainly on nectar, pollen and honeydew.

They can also serve as natural pest control for agriculture due to their high abundance and general carnivory.

Species

Subgenus Cantharis

Subgenus Cyrtomoptila

See also

References and notes

Further reading

  • Wittmer W., Kasantsev S. (1997) On the classification of the genus Cantharis Linné (Coleoptera, Cantharidae). Entomologica Basiliensia 20: 367–372.

External links