Comparative Sexual Behavior in Blister Beetles of the Subtribe Eupomphina (Coleoptera: Meloidae), and an Evaluation of Its Taxonomic Significance 1

15 November 1977

journal article
research article
Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Annals of the Entomological Society of America

Vol. 70 (6) , 937-951
https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/70.6.937

Abstract

Sexual behavior of 18 species, representing all 8 genera of the subtribe Eupomphina, is compared. Behavior in Cordylospasta fulleri, Pleuropasta mirabilis, Eupompha viridis, E. edmundsi, E. schwarzi, E. histrionica, and E. fissiceps is described for the first time. Eupomphine behavior shows a high degree of variation, and this variation is evaluated as a potential character source for classification. Similarities between species in different genera are numerous but are, in most cases, attributable to convergent evolution. Courtship patterns in this subtribe and other groups of meloids appear to be relatively recent phenomena. Because of recent diversification, behavior is probably of little value for higher classification; its greatest potential is at the species level.

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