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.Selander, R. B. (1991). On the nomenclature and classification of Meloidae (Coleoptera). Insecta Mundi 5(2): 65–94.
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, 1924 Cantharis annularis Menetriez, 1836 Cantharis antennalis (Marseul, 1864) Cantharis ariasi (Mulsant, 1862) Cantharis assimilis Paykull, 1798 Cantharis atrata (Marseul, 1864) Cantharis basithorax Pic, 1902 Cantharis beckeri (Pic, 1902) Cantharis brevicornis (Kiesenwetter, 1852) Cantharis brullei (Marseul, 1864) Cantharis cedricola Wittmer, 1971 Cantharis cornix (Abeille de Perrin, 1869) Cantharis coronata Gyllenhal, 1808 Cantharis corvina Moscardini, 1962 Cantharis cretica Wittmer, 1971 Cantharis cryptica Ashe, 1947 Cantharis cypria (Marseul, 1864) Cantharis darwiniana Sharp, 1867 Cantharis decipiens Baudi, 1871 Cantharis decolorans Brullé, 1832 Cantharis delagrangei Delkeskamp, 1939 Cantharis dissipata Gemminger, 1870 Cantharis edentula Baudi, 1871 Cantharis ephippigera (Brullé, 1832) Cantharis europea Pic, 1921 Cantharis falzonii Fiori 1914 Cantharis figurata Mannerheim, 1843 Cantharis flavilabris Fallén, 1807 Cantharis franciana Kiesenwetter, 1866 Cantharis fusca Linnaeus, 1758 - type species Cantharis fuscipennis (Mulsant, 1862) Cantharis groehni Cantharis hellenica Heyden, 1883 Cantharis ictaria Fiori, 1914 Cantharis inculta Gene, 1839 Cantharis instabilis Kiesenwetter, 1866 Cantharis italica Fiori, 1914 Cantharis kervillei Pic, 1932 Cantharis liburnica Depoli, 1912 Cantharis livida Linnaeus, 1758 Cantharis merula Moscardini, 1862 Cantharis monacha Moscardini, 1862 Cantharis montana Stierlin, 1889 Cantharis morio Fabricius, 1792 Cantharis navka Kazantsev & Perkovsky, 2026 Cantharis nevadensis Pic, 1908 Cantharis nigra (De Geer, 1774) Cantharis nigricans Müller, 1766 Cantharis nigricornis (Laporte de Castelnau, 1840) Cantharis obscura Linnaeus, 1758 Cantharis ochreata (Reiche, 1878) Cantharis paganettii (Flach, 1907) Cantharis palliata Gyllenhal, 1808 Cantharis pallida Goeze, 1777 Cantharis paludosa Fallén, 1807 Cantharis paradoxa Hicker, 1960 Cantharis paulinoi Kiesenwetter, 1870 Cantharis pellucida Fabricius, 1792 Cantharis peninsularis Fiori, 1914 Cantharis praecox Gene, 1836 Cantharis prusiensis (Marseul, 1864) Cantharis pulicaria Fabricius, 1781 Cantharis pyrenaea Pic, 1906 Cantharis quadripunctata (Müller, 1776) Cantharis reichei Mulsant, 1862 Cantharis rufa Linnaeus, 1758 Cantharis rustica Fallén, 1807 Cantharis schrammi Pic, 1907 Cantharis seidlitzi Kiesenwetter, 1865 Cantharis soeulensis Pic, 1922 Cantharis sicula Pic, 1906 Cantharis smyrnensis (Marseul, 1864) Cantharis terminata Faldermann, 1835 Cantharis torretasoi Wittmer, 1935 Cantharis tristis Fabricius, 1797 Cantharis versicolor (Baudi, 1871) Cantharis xanthoporpa Kiesenwetter, 1860
Subgenus Cyrtomoptila Cantharis carsteni Cantharis gemina Dahlgren, 1974 Cantharis lateralis Linnaeus, 1758 Cantharis pagana Rosenhauer, 1847
See also List of Cantharis species
References and notes
Further reading Wittmer W., Kasantsev S. (1997) On the classification of the genus Cantharis Linné (Coleoptera, Cantharidae). Entomologica Basiliensia 20: 367–372.
External links
Biolib Fauna europaea