Renatiella reticulata explained

Renatiella reticulata is a species of diurnal, herbivorous beetle that is native to East and southern Africa. It has rather long legs, and is the most widespread, apomorphic and polytypic species of its genus.^[1]

Range

It has been recorded in Tanzania,^[2] Zambia,^[3] Botswana,^[4] Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Biology

The widespread species occurs on various sandy substrates, and adults are encountered at any time of the year. Larvae and adults feed on dead or decaying plant material, while under or on the soil surface. Though not arboreal, they may climb up to one foot above ground along stumps or shrub stems to escape immersion, a habit not found in related beetles. They have been recorded on field-stooped maize, ploughed in grass sods, sunn hemp and tobacco stalks. On occasion they may attack sown maize or young tobacco crops.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Penrith . Mary-Louise . Relationships in the Tribe Adesmiini (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and a revision of the genus Stenodesia Reitter . Annals of the Transvaal Museum . November 1986 . 34 . 13 . 275–302 . 0041-1752 . 22 June 2017.
2. Kaszab. Z.. The Scientific Results of Hungarian Zoological Expedition to Tanganyika, 15. Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici Pars Zoologica. 1971. 63. 22 June 2017.
3. Web site: Renatiella reticulata . insectoid.info.
4. Web site: Renatiella reticulata (Gerstaecker 1854) . Namibian biodiversity database . 30 September 2018.
5. Bünzli . G.H. . Büttiker . W.W. . Miscellanea: Insects in Southern Rhodesian tobacco culture. Part II, III, IV, Insects occurring in the fields: Hymenoptera; Diptera; Tenebrionidae and Elateridae . Acta Tropica . 1957 . 14 . 251 .