Tillus elongatus (Linnaeus) (Cleridae) — over a century of error

摘要

According to current literature, the sexes of Tillus elongatus (Linnaeus) are easilydistinguished by the female alone having a red pronotum, in an otherwise nearlyblack insect. Thus the series of nine 'red' specimens taken locally at BardfieldSaling, North Essex, over the last few years should all be female. However, onespecimen appeared distinctly different from the others in possessing noticeably morenarrowly serrate antennae (Figure 1A) and on dissection of the whole series thisparticular 'red' proved to be a male. By chance, another older 'red' specimen,rescued from a storebox of miscellaneous dilapidated insects at Ongar ResearchStation, Essex, in 1958, has similar antennae although with the serration lesspronounced, notably in joints four and ten (Figure 1B), and is also a male. This onebears the rather enigmatic label "from a cage of ash and oak" but no locality, date orcollector's name. The antennal joints of the eight females are less narrowly serratethan those of the two males, being shorter, wider and blunter at the tips. Althoughthese characters vary along the length of the antennae in individuals, the overall jointprofiles are reasonably consistent in all eight (Figure 1C, D). However, in the type Dspecimen the joints are thicker and more rounded above and below whilst retainingthe same profile.