What is the ecological significance of the metallic shine of ground beetles?

Community and Forum → Insects biology and faunistics → What is the ecological significance of the metallic shine of ground beetles?

Travanaft, 29.08.2021 7:25

I can't find any information on the ecological role of ground beetle metallic luster, and I can't think of it myself. Most of the species that I have met in Siberia have mostly only colored edging of the elytra and pronotum, but the species are mainly active at night and this makes it even more difficult to understand why they need this feature... Can someone suggest a good literature on ecological morphology or give a direction for reflection?

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Comments

29.08.2021 11:09, ИНО

Yes, what is not clear here: that dried corpses cost a penny

But seriously, this is a structural coloration due to the peculiarities of the cuticle structure. It is more or less inherent in most insects that have particularly hard and smooth integuments (unless they are "concerned" with creating an additional pigmented color, for example, a warning one). In general, most beetles, not only ground beetles, with particularly smooth elytra shine in this way. But for the smoothness of ground beetles, the ecological explanation is obvious - to make it easier to move in the grass or in the forest floor. Namely, because of the nocturnal lifestyle, this color shine is not negatively selected. Or rather, it was not exposed until the men with glasses, but without vodka, did not go into the forest

, it is more difficult to come up with an explanation for all these pits and bumps, often species - specific, not otherwise than specifically for coleopterologists try