Phosphuga atrata
Encyclopedia
Phosphuga atrata is a Europe
an carrion beetle
that feeds on live snail
s, insect
s and earthworm
s, as well as on carrion
. The beetle is up to 15mm long and has an elongated neck, which is used to reach into snail shells, which it sprays with a digestive fluid. Young beetles are brownish in color, older ones are black. The larva
e are black and flattened and feed on snails as well. They pupate
in the ground.
Although they are widely distributed, they are seldom found, because they hunt at night and hide during the day, often under bark. When disturbed, they excrete a yellow fluid and retract their head under the shield.
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an carrion beetle
Carrion beetle
Silphidae is a family of beetles that are known commonly as carrion or burying beetles. There are two subfamilies: Silphinae and Nicrophorinae. Both families feed on decaying organic matter such as dead animals. The families differ in which uses parental care and which types of carcasses they prefer...
that feeds on live snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
s, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s, as well as on carrion
Carrion
Carrion refers to the carcass of a dead animal. Carrion is an important food source for large carnivores and omnivores in most ecosystems. Examples of carrion-eaters include vultures, hawks, eagles, hyenas, Virginia Opossum, Tasmanian Devils, coyotes, Komodo dragons, and burying beetles...
. The beetle is up to 15mm long and has an elongated neck, which is used to reach into snail shells, which it sprays with a digestive fluid. Young beetles are brownish in color, older ones are black. The larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e are black and flattened and feed on snails as well. They pupate
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
in the ground.
Although they are widely distributed, they are seldom found, because they hunt at night and hide during the day, often under bark. When disturbed, they excrete a yellow fluid and retract their head under the shield.