Tag Archives: Mellissius

Mellissius eudoxus Wollaston

Eudoxus Scarab Beetle (Mellissius eudoxus)

This species was endemic to the island of Saint Helena, where it apparently was very common in former times; its larvae were called hog-worms and were thought to cause great damage to the grasslands by feeding on the roots of the grasses.:

Indeed we met with the eudoxus almost universally throughout the rather elevated central and south-western parts of the island (particularly in the vicinity of Cason’s, High Peak, and West Lodge), and more sparingly even in the northern ones, whereas of the adumbrates I did not procure so much as a single example during our six months’ sojourn in the island; so that, if the “hog-worms” do really “play so important a part in the destruction of the grass on the high lands, by feeding on its roots, that large patches, and sometimes whole fields, are laid bare,” I suspect that it must be the M. eudoxus, and not the comparatively rare adumbrates, which is mainly responsible for the damage.” [1]

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The Eudoxus Scarab Beetle was apparently not found during the most recent field searches and appears to be possibly extinct.

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The depiction below shows another species of that genus, the Shaded Scarab Beetle (Mellissius adumbrates Wollaston), which apparently still survives on the island.

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References:

[1] T. Vernon Wollaston: Coleoptera Sanctae-Helenae. London: John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row 1877

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Shaded Scarab Beetle (Mellissius adumbratus)

Depiction from: ‘John Charles Meliss: St. Helena: A Physical, Historical, and Topographical Description of the Island, including its Geology, Fauna, Flora, and Meteorology. London: L. Reeve & Co. 1875’ 

(public domain)

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edited: 26.05.2021