FIRST RECORD OF THE SOFT-WINGED FLOWER BEETLE FROM THE GENUS CERAPHELES MULSANT ET REY (COLEOPTERA: MALACHIIDAE) IN UKRAINE

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Kravchenko, O. M. Secondary School of the I–III degrees, Pishcha Village, Shatsk District, Volyn Region, 44010, UKRAINE; e-mail: pisha_kravchenko@yahoo.com ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Received 28.11.2018 Accepted 16.12.2018 by Dr. O. G. Shatrovskyi Published 21.12.2018 UDC 595.766.17:591.4/.5:591.9(477.82/.83) DOI: 10.36016/KhESG-2018-26-2-2


I n t r o d u c t i o n . The genus Cerapheles
from the soft-winged flower beetles (Malachiidae) now includes seven species of worldwide fauna (Greiner, 1937). Three of them are distributed in Palaearctic, but no records about any species still were from Ukraine. Below author presents data on the first find of C. terminatus (Ménétriés, 1832) in Ukraine, on its preferred habitats and host plants, on the main differences of the genus Cerapheles from the morphologically similar genus Anthocomus Erichson, 1840, as well as the redescription of male and provision of addition characteristics of C. terminatus female based on the modern approaches in taxonomy of the soft-winged flower beetles. M a t e r i a l s a n d m e t h o d s . Material was collected by author using standard entomological methods: sweeping by entomological net, hand searching on plants, shaking of aquatic plants, followed by sampling of beetles from the water surface with an aquarium net, sifting of plant remnants by the soil sieve. All material are stored in author's personal collection.
R e s u l t s a n d d i s c u s s i o n s . Based on observations in the Hydrological Reserve 'Pishchansky' (Great and Small Pishcha lakes, Fig. 1.) in the end of May-beginning of June 2017, Cerapheles beetles resided in the littoral part of the lakes in the places of the growth sedge (Carex vesicaria L.), the common reed (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud.), and the broadleaf cattail (Typha latifolia L.), however the yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus L.) was absent in these habitats, despite it grows in a plurality of banks of drainage canals. The depth in these parts of the lakes varies from 20 to 40 cm. The bottom is strongly silty with interweaving of blue-green and green algae and dead cane remnants, and on the surface of the water are thick accumulations of the common frogbit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae L.).
Females of C. terminatus are wingless. They actively moved along dead reed stalks, some of which had many holes made by various insects that developed there, then reached for sedge inflorescences, where they feed of pollen (Fig. 2). Some of them descended along thick dry reeds stalks nearly to the surface of the water, bent under the belly, touched by its tip the plant, froze for 10-15 min, and then again ran very quickly along the stalks. Perhaps they laid eggs, and the hatching larvae could use the holes in the reed stalks as a temporary shelter.

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Observing the imago, the males were not detected, but when shaking off plants on the surface of the water, individuals of both sexes were collected.

G e n u s C e r a p h e l e s Mulsant et Rey, 1867
Genus Cerapheles differs from close genus Anthocomus by some characters (Tab. 1, Fig. 3).

Ta b l e 1 . Comparative table of distinctive morphological characters for the genera Cerapheles and
Anthocomus (Fig. 3) Characters Cerapheles Anthocomus Males Apex of elytra impressed dorsally (Fig. 3 B) impressed frontally (Fig. 3 A) Elytral internal sutural angle raised up, with vertical tuft of white hairs (Fig. 3 B) not raised up, with vertical curved flat plates (Fig. 3 A)

Pronotum
1.20-times width to length, distinctly narrowed from middle to base (Fig. 3 C) 1.05-times width to length, quadrate (Fig. 3 D) Apical segment of maxillary palpi protruded inward, truncated at the tip (
In this regard, below male redescribed, and some additional characters for female are provided, basing on the current approaches in taxonomy of malachiids. Author hopes these allow correct identification of this species in Ukraine and neighboring countries.