Gyrostigma Rhinocerontis: His larva lives in the rhino’s stomach

by Benoit GILLES There are five species of rhinoceros, two in Africa: the White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) and the Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis), and three in Asia: the Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), the Java Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and the rhinoceros Sumatra (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). These species are all in the process of degradation due to the…

Read More

Thyreophora cynophila : the unlikely return of the orange-headed fly!

Thyreophora cynophila Thyreophora cynophila had not been observed < 160 years ago than the orange head of a fly specimen ! This species of the family Piophilidae (photos below), described in 1798 by the botanist and entomologist G.W.F. Panzer (1755-1829), had last been observed near Paris in 1840. Its presence had previously been recorded in…

Read More

The incredible life cycle of Micromalthus debilis!

Micromalthus debilis, an Archostemate (smallest suborder of beetles – 50 species) of North American origin does not seem to have evolved for several tens of millions of years : it is the only known living representative of the Micromalthidae family. Although the species displays archaic morphological characters, its development cycle is both complex and singular,…

Read More

But where do the Ornebius of the Indian Ocean come from?

By Sylvain HUGEL The Mogoplistidae are a basal family of crickets, most of whose limbs are covered with flat, scaly bristles. None of them are capable of flying. A genus of Mogoplistidae is particularly diverse: the genus Ornebius which includes more than 100 species, mainly distributed in the Indo-Malaysian, Australian and Oceanian regions. Some species…

Read More