Zopherus nodulosus, is a species of ironclad beetle in the family Zopheridae.[2] It is found in Central America and North America.[3][4][5]

Zopherus nodulosus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Zopheridae
Subfamily: Zopherinae
Genus: Zopherus
Species:
Z. nodulosus
Binomial name
Zopherus nodulosus
Solier, 1841
Subspecies

Zopherus nodulosus haldemani, Zopherus nodulosus nodulosus[1]

The species name nodulosus refers to the bumps or nodes on the beetle's back.[6][7]

Subspecies

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Zopherus nodulosus haldemani pattern variation

Z. n. haldemani

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Z. n. haldemani Horn, 1870, common names Haldeman's ironclad beetle[8] or Texas ironclad beetle,[7] is sometimes treated as a separate species.[2][9] It can grow between 1.5 and 2 centimetres in length. The body is a blotchy black-and-white pattern, and the legs are fully black.[10][11] The subspecies name, haldemani, references the Haldeman brothers (Samuel Haldeman and Horace Haldeman), the former a naturalist and philologist, the latter a soldier and one of the first people to concentrate on insect collection in Texas.[12][13][7][9]

They are thought to feed on lichen and dead plant material.[7][11] Females have been observed laying eggs on American elms, and larvae and pupae have been found in pecan wood,[11][9] which "apparently serves as the developmental site for this species".[11] They are found in East and Central Texas.[14][9]

Z. n. nodulosus

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Z. n. nodulosus can grow between 1.4 and 2.8 centimetres in length, and 0.5 to 1.1 cm in width.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Zopherus nodulosus Solier, 1841".
  2. ^ a b "Zopherus nodulosus Solier, 1841". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  3. ^ "Zopherus nodulosus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  4. ^ "Zopherus nodulosus". GBIF. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  5. ^ "Zopherus nodulosus species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
  6. ^ "Texas Ironclad Beetle". Field Station. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  7. ^ a b c d "One Tough Coleoptera". Arrants Outdoors, LLC. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  8. ^ Society, National Geographic. "Four Haldeman'S Iron Clad Beetles". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  9. ^ a b c d "Ironclad Beetle (Zopherus haldemani)". texasento.net. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  10. ^ "Ironclad beetle". Project Noah. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  11. ^ a b c d ""Ironclad" Beetle". texasinsects.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  12. ^ "TSHA | Haldeman, Horace". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  13. ^ "Samuel Steman Haldeman". Home. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  14. ^ "Bug o'the Week - Texas Ironclad Beetle - Riveredge Nature Center". www.riveredgenaturecenter.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
  15. ^ A Review of the Genus Zopherus of the World (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) by Triplehorn, Charles