Nemognatha chrysomeloides


Nemognatha chrysomeloides is a species of oil beetle endemic to Central and South America.

Ecology

Nemognatha chrysomeloides is a parasite of Melitoma marginella and M. segmentaria from Mexico to Argentina. Both N. chrysomeloides and Melitoma are restricted to the same host plant – Ipomoea – and so the rate of parasitism may be comparatively high.

Taxonomy

Nemognatha chrysomeloides was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 work Centuria Insectorum, under the name Meloe chrysomeloides. It is a very variable species, and as such, many synonyms have since been published:
  • Cantharis chrysomeloides : Thunberg, 1784
  • Lytta chrysomeloides : Schoenherr, 1817
  • Nemognathus coeruleipennis Perty, 1830
  • Nemognatha versicolor Chevrolat, 1834
  • Nemognatha abdominalis Lucas in Laporte de Castelnau, 1859
  • Nemognatha bicolor Lucas in Laporte de Castelnau, 1859
  • Nematognatha lucasi Gemminger, 1870
  • Nemognatha atra Beauregard, 1890
  • Nemognatha coeruleipennis var. fulviventris Beauregard, 1890
  • Nemognatha pallidicollis Beauregard, 1890
  • Nemognatha violacea Beauregard, 1890
  • Nemognatha beauregardi Pic, 1910
  • Zonitis chrysomeloides : Denier, 1935
  • Zonitis beauregardi : Blackwelder, 1945
  • Nemognatha chrysomeloides ab. markli Kaszab, 1963