Featured speciesText © K. Reißmann, T. Hörren, M. Stern, F. Bötzl and C. Benisch
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23.04.2021
Lomechusa emarginata (Payk., 1789)
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The 3.5 to 4.5 mm large rove beetle Lomechusa emarginata (family Staphylinidae) is the most common species of the three representatives of the genus in Germany. The myrmecophilous species is of Eurosiberian distribution. It lives on close relationship with ants: In autumn, the freshly hatched beetle leaves the nest of Formica fusca, waits a few days until the chitinous exoskeleton has hardened and the smell of F. fusca has worn off. It then hibernates in the nest of the European fire ant (Myrmica rubra). In spring it returns to the nest of Formica fusca and allows its larvae to be reared by the ants. The beetles can be found at the edges of forests and clearings, both in the ant nest but also on the lower vegetation around the nest or swarming. In Germany, L. emarginata is present in all Federal States and not endangered. (CB)
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