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Methocha articulata


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Subspecies
(1) Methocha articulata articulata (Latreille, 1792)
(2) Methocha articulata nigrescens Hoffer, 1938 (Czech Republic, Slovakia)
(3) Methocha articulata obscura Hoffer, 1938 (Slovakia, Ukraine)

Agnoli (2005) writes that the taxa nigrescens and obscura are identical, but does not give an indication which one has priority. Thus, the first reviser has not resolved the priority issue and the valid name for this south-eastern European subspecies is currently unresolved. Agnoli (2005) further suggests that these names may only refer to color variants and thus are synonyms of the nominate form. I agree with this notion, but leave the synonymization to a future revision of this species. In any case, in Germany only the nominate form has been recorded.


Synonyms
Synonymy of Metocha articulata articulata:

Mutilla formicaria Latreille, 1792 (nomen dubium, unclear synonym)
Mutilla articulata Latreille, 1792
Methoca articulata (Latreille, 1792) (unjustified emendation of Methocha)
Methocha articulata (Latreille, 1792)
Methocha articulata articulata (Latreille, 1792)
Methoca ichneumonides Latreille, 1805
Methocha ichneumonides (Latreille, 1805)
Methoca mutillaria Latreille, 1806
Gonatopus mutillarius (Latreille, 1806)
Tengyra sanvitali Latreille, 1809
Spinolia italica Costa, 1858
Methocha arcticulata auct. (misspelling)
Methocha ichneumonoides auct. (misspelling)


Identification
A species with strong sexual dimorphism: males are winged, females are wingless.


Distribution
No information has been entered yet.


Biology
This species is a parasite of the larvae of Tiger Beetles (Cicindela, Carabidae). Thus, it depends on the occurrence of their hosts and can be found in the same habitats, mainly sandy areas, dry slopes, and open heathland. Imagines can be found from May to July, exceptionally also in August, in a single generation. The species is believed to be very rare in Germany, but Bleidorn and Venne (2000) note that the species may often be overlooked, because the females can  easily be confused with ants and thus are not reported properly. In addition, Bleidorn and Venne (2000) show that the number of males that were caught in their study is extremely low (male to female ratio 1:31). Thus, if males are rare and females confused with ants, then this might explain why the species is regarded as very rare in Germany.


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This site is online since May 31, 2005
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