Sharp winged elephant (lat. Euidosomus acuminatus) a beetle from the family of weevils. Some representatives of the plant and animal world can be characteristic of certain habitats. Such species are called endemics. The territory of their distribution is limited. Their small number follows from this. Often they are rare or disappearing, so they are entered in the Red Book of some region, country or the World Book of MSOP (International Union of Nature Protection).
Among the animals there are many endemic species. They can live only in a particular climatic belt, natural zone, pond, on certain islands or heights above sea level. The life of such an insect as an elephant is sharpwinged, associated with the meadow vegetation of the steppes. Wormwood growing there and other steppe herbs are the home and food for this beetle.
Description and appearance
The Oblywry elephant belongs to the family of weevils of the detachment of hardwinged insects. It has an elongated oval body of black. Its length is from 3 to 7 mm. The surface of the body is covered with blue, golden or green scales. Thin hips have a small clove. There are thin hairs on the overlaps flattened from the sides.
There are anatomical differences between males and females. Oddllyls of the first tightly closed and rounded at the top. They are elongated in females. Thin front legs in males are bent inside, and the females are straight. Distinguish between beetles of different sexes and hind limbs. In males, the hind legs are slightly expanded, pressed from the inside and have light sticking bristles.
The type of icing elephant is propagated by two sexual methods. They are characterized by both a helter and parthenogenesis. As a rule, it depends on the habitats of beetles.
Where the sharpwinged elephant lives?
The parthenogenetic form of the species is more common in Moldova, in the steppe and foreststeppe regions of Ukraine, the European part of Eurasia, in the south of Western Siberia, in Kazakhstan. Better insects live in the Krasnodar Territory (including the Taman Peninsula), the Azov region of the Rostov region, Stavropol Territory, Crimea.
Elephants prefer to settle on plants of the genuine wormwood in the steppe climatic zones. Such areas with chalk and granite deposits, which are coming to the surface of the Earth, once became Refugium for the species (allowed to survive adverse periods of existence). Also, these beetles inhabit flows in the southern part of their range.
Eating insects
The larva of the sharpwinged elephant feeds on the roots of many grassy plants. The diet of adults is wormwood of various types. Mostly Santonin wormwood (Artemisia Santonica) and Crimean wormwood (Artemisia Taurica).
Interesting facts about the ecological status of an elephant elephant
The number of species is steadily reduced. This is due to small territories in which the sharpwinged elephant can exist comfortably. Therefore, the beetle is listed in the Red Book of Eurasia. He was given the second category, since the elephant population gradually becomes less and less.
The elephant habitat is reduced due to the use of steppe meadows for plowing. And this type of weevils is not capable of migrations from habitual habitats. From the disappearance, the view will save the creation of reserves, where any activity (plowing, castout, fell dry grass in the spring will be prohibited). It is also necessary to preserve the steppe vegetation, which is a feed base for beetles of this type.
This type of weevils is protected in some existing reserves and reserves. For example, the “Vrusky” reserve in Chuvashia.
