Drilus flavescens

Drilus flavescens
Drilus flavescens - Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Hexapoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Drilidae
Genus:	Drilus
Species:	D. flavescens
Binomial name
Drilus flavescens (Geoffroy, 1785)
Synonyms
Cantharis serraticornis Marshal, 1802 Cochleoctonus vorax Mielzinsky, 1824 Drilus flabellatus Kiesenwetter, 1859) Drilus parisinus Thunberg, 1792

Drilus flavescens is a species of beetles belonging to the family Drilidae. This insect is mainly present in Austria, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Switzerland.

The eggs are laid in the soil and the young larvae of this beetle are covered with hairs. They are predators of land shell-bearing snails. At the third stage larva pupates in the empty shells. Finally we have the adult.

The adult males are approximately 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long. They have long comb-shaped antennas, probably utilized for detecting pheromones of females. Head and pronotum are black, while elytra are reddish, quite soft and covered of fine upstanding hairs. It can be encountered on flowers and foliage.

Drilus flavescens is one of the most extreme cases of sexual dimorphism in insects. The females of this beetle look like a caterpillar – so called larviforme females - completely lacking of wings and other adult characters. They live on the ground in the shells of snails (frequently Fruticicola fruticum [O. F. Müller, 1774]), feeding of the inabitants, previously killed with a poisonous bite and sucked in with the help of digestive enzymes.

External links

• Biolib
• Fauna europaea
• Delta-intkey