Cantharis
Cantharis is a large genus of soldier beetles in the family Cantharidae. They are a carnivorous genus with narrow and soft elytra. They live in meadows.
The poisonous Spanish fly is superficially similar and is associated with the scientific name Cantharis vesicatoria. It is also sometimes called "cantharis" in the vernacular, but it is actually unrelated to Cantharis and is not a member of the Cantharidae at all. It was classified there erroneously until Johan Christian Fabricius corrected its name in his Systema entomologiae in 1775. He reclassified the Spanish fly in the new genus Lytta as Lytta vesicatoria. It belongs to the family Meloidae.
Habitat
They live in meadows and arable land likely due to favorable microclimatic conditions for their larva which prefer high relative humidity. They occurred in high abundance.
Behavior
Both the adults and larva of this genus are, at least, partially carnivorous playing a role in arthropod communities. They will prey on a variety of invertebrates, particularly soft-bodied species, such as earthworms, dipteran larvae and lepidopteran larvae. However their predation on invertebrates might be low under natural conditions with adults probably feeding mainly on nectar, pollen and honeydew.
They can also serve as natural pest control for agriculture due to their high abundance and general carnivory.
Species
Subgenus ''Cantharis''
Cantharis allosensis Pic, 1924Cantharis annularis Menetriez, 1836Cantharis antennalis Cantharis ariasi Cantharis assimilis Paykull, 1798Cantharis atrata Cantharis basithorax Pic, 1902Cantharis beckeri Cantharis brevicornis Cantharis brullei Cantharis cedricola Wittmer, 1971Cantharis cornix Cantharis coronata Gyllenhal, 1808Cantharis corvina Moscardini, 1962Cantharis cretica Wittmer, 1971Cantharis cryptica Ashe, 1947Cantharis cypria Cantharis darwiniana Sharp, 1867Cantharis decipiens Baudi, 1871Cantharis decolorans Brullé, 1832Cantharis delagrangei Delkeskamp, 1939Cantharis dissipata Gemminger, 1870Cantharis edentula Baudi, 1871Cantharis ephippigera Cantharis europea Pic 1921Cantharis falzonii Fiori 1914Cantharis figurata Mannerheim, 1843Cantharis flavilabris Fallén, 1807Cantharis franciana Kiesenwetter, 1866Cantharis fusca Linnaeus, 1758 - type speciesCantharis fuscipennis Cantharis groehniCantharis hellenica Heyden, 1883Cantharis ictaria Fiori, 1914Cantharis inculta Gene, 1839Cantharis instabilis Kiesenwetter, 1866Cantharis italica Fiori, 1914Cantharis kervillei Pic, 1932Cantharis liburnica Depoli, 1912Cantharis livida Linnaeus, 1758Cantharis merula Moscardini, 1862Cantharis monacha Moscardini, 1862Cantharis montana Stierlin, 1889Cantharis morio Fabricius, 1792Cantharis nevadensis Pic, 1908Cantharis nigra Cantharis nigricans Müller, 1766Cantharis nigricornis Cantharis obscura Linnaeus, 1758Cantharis ochreata Cantharis paganettii Cantharis palliata Gyllenhal, 1808Cantharis pallida Goeze, 1777Cantharis paludosa Fallén, 1807 Cantharis paradoxa Hicker, 1960Cantharis paulinoi Kiesenwetter, 1870Cantharis pellucida Fabricius, 1792Cantharis peninsularis Fiori, 1914Cantharis praecox Gene, 1836Cantharis prusiensis Cantharis pulicaria Fabricius, 1781Cantharis pyrenaea Pic, 1906Cantharis quadripunctata Cantharis reichei Mulsant, 1862Cantharis rufa Linnaeus, 1758Cantharis rustica Fallén, 1807Cantharis schrammi Pic, 1907Cantharis seidlitzi Kiesenwetter, 1865Cantharis soeulensis Pic, 1922Cantharis sicula Pic, 1906Cantharis smyrnensis Cantharis terminata Faldermann, 1835Cantharis torretasoi Wittmer, 1935Cantharis tristis Fabricius, 1797Cantharis versicolor Cantharis xanthoporpa Kiesenwetter, 1860
Subgenus ''Cyrtomoptila''
Cantharis carsteniCantharis gemina Dahlgren, 1974Cantharis lateralis Linnaeus, 1758Cantharis pagana Rosenhauer, 1847