Tag Archives: Brachypeplus guttatus Sharp

Apetasimus guttatus (Sharp)

Speckled Sap Beetle (Apetasimus guttatus)

The Speckled Sap Beetle was described in 1881; it was apparently found near the city of Honolulu on the island of O’ahu, Hawaiian Islands, but is otherwise also known to have occurred on the island of Hawai’i.

The species reached a length of about 0,52 to 0,61 cm; it was brick red to nearly blackish, with some pale yellow to orange-red markings. [1]

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The Speckled Sap Beetle was living subcortical in the wood of decaying koa trees (Acacia koa A. Gray); this microhabitat was severely disrupted on all of the Hawaiian main islands by the introduction of terrestrial isopods, leading to the disappearance of nearly all invertebrates that shared the same modus vivendi. [1]

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References:

[1] Curtis Ewing: Revision of the endemic Hawaiian sap beetle genus Apetasimus Sharp 1908 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). Zootaxa 1385: 1-30. 2006

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edited: 02.06.2021