Mylabris variabilis

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Coleopterida
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Polyphaga
Infraordo: Cucujiformia
Superfamilia: Tenebrionoidea

Familia: Meloidae
Subfamilia: Meloinae
Tribus: Mylabrini
Genus: Mylabris
Species: Mylabris variabilis
Name

Mylabris variabilis (Peter Simon Pallas, 1781)
Synonyms

Meloe variabilis Pallas, 1781 [original combination]
Meloe cichorii Linnaeus, 1758

References
Primary references

Pallas, P.S. 1781. Icones insectorvm praesertim Rossiae Sibiriaeqve pecvliarivm qvae collegit et descriptionibvs. pp. [1–9], 1–96, Tab. A–F. Erlangae. BHL Reference page. [p. 81]

Links

Mylabris variabilis Taxon details on Fauna Europaea
Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, Mylabris variabilis (Pallas, 1781) (Meloidae) - foto by D.Doychev

Mylabris variabilis is a species of blister beetle belonging to the Meloidae family.

Subspecies

Mylabris variabilis var. disrupta Baudi, 1878
Mylabris variabilis var. lacera Fischer von Waldheim, 1827
Mylabris variabilis var. mutabilis Mars
Mylabris variabilis var. sturmi Baudi

Distribution

This common species is present in most of Southern Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula to southern Russia. [2] It can also be found in Caucaus and Transcaucasia, Near East and northern Levant, Middle East and Central Asia and Siberia. [3]
Description
Side view

Mylabris variabilis can reach a body length of 8–20 millimetres (0.31–0.79 in).[3] These beetles have a cylindrical, elongate body with relatively convex, yellow-orange elytra and wide transverse black wavy stripes. Head is square shaped, with a flat forehead. Antennae are black and long with eleven segments. Pronotum is long and wide, with parallel sides. [4] The size of the black markings and the color of elytra are very variable[3] (hence the specie name variabilis). Normally they have three black bands. The 1st and 2nd bands are sometimes divided into four distinct spots. [4] They are however distinguished from the similar species by a black stripe ath the end of the abdomen. This species is very similar to Mylabris pannonica Kaszab, 1956.
Biology

This species has a very complex biological cycle. Adults fly from June to September, feeding on flowers. During the larval stage they feed on eggs and larvae of grasshoppers.[3]
Bibliography

Heiko Bellmann (1999): Der Neue Kosmos Insektenführer. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart. ISBN 3-440-07682-2
Heiko Bellmann: Insectes d'Europe, Artemis, Poche nature 2007, (ISBN 978-2-84416-525-1)
Michael Chinery, Insectes de France et d'Europe occidentale, Paris, Flammarion, août 2012, 320 p. (ISBN 978-2-0812-8823-2), p. 276
Nikbakhtzadeh M.R., Tirgari S., 2002. Blister Beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) in Nahavand County (Hamedan Province, Iran) and Their Ecological Relationship to Other Coleopteran Families, Iranian J. Publ. Health, Vol. 31, Nos. 1-2, PP. 55-62.
Özbek H., Szaloki D., 1998. A contribution to the knowledge of the Meloidae (Coleoptera) fauna of Turkey along with new records, TÜBİTAK, Tr. J. of Zoology 22, 23-40.

References

Biolib
Fauna europaea
Zhao Pan, Marco A. Bologna Taxonomy, Bionomics and Faunistics of the Nominate Subgenus of Mylabris Fabricius, 1775, with the description of five new species (Coleoptera: Meloidae: Mylabrini)
Nature Wonders