Eupholus nickerli

Eupholus nickerli is a species of beetle belonging to the family Curculionidae.[1]

Eupholus nickerli
Eupholus nickerli cyanescens, on display at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Curculionidae
Subfamily:
Entiminae
Genus:
Eupholus
Species:
E. nickerli
Binomial name
Eupholus nickerli
Heller, 1913

Subspecies

Subspecies include:

  • Eupholus-nickerli cyanescens [2]
  • Eupholus-nickerli anthracina [3]

Distribution

This species can be found in Papua New Guinea.[4]

Eupholus-nickerli anthracina

Habitat

These beetles mainly inhabit warm forest.

Description

Eupholus nickerli can reach a length of about 18–32 millimetres (0.71–1.26 in).[5] In the subspecies Eupholus-nickerli cyanescens the basic colour of these quite variable beetles is metallic blue, with some transversal irregular black bands along the elytra. The thorax is uniformly blue. In the subspecies Eupholus-nickerli anthracina the basic color is greygreyish, with transversal black and yellowish bands . These structural colours derive from very small, flat scales [6] and possibly serve to warn predators of their toxicity. The top of rostrum and the end of the antennae are black.

References
  1. Animal Diversity
  2. Eupholus-nickerli-cyanescens at Coleoptera Atlas
  3. Eupholus-nickerli-anthracina at Coleoptera Atlas
  4. Biolib
  5. Kaefer-der-welt
  6. Stanislav N. Gorb Functional Surfaces in Biology: Little Structures with Big Effects, Volume 1


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