Nitops floralis (Erichson, 1843)

Species Fact Sheet
Nitops floralis (Erichson, 1843)

Figure 1. Male dorsal and ventral habitus

Diagnosis: Nitops floralis specimens are distinguished from other eastern North American species by the following combination of features: body convex dorsally in lateral view (Fig. 2), antennal club shape round (width approximately equal to length and widest at the middle), posterior rim of the mesocoxal cavities smooth, not forming axillary space, and elytra not significantly lighter or darker than the pronotum and tergites (Fig. 1).

Distribution: Nitops floralis is found in North America from New York to Florida and west to New Mexico and into Central America.

Biology: Eggs are laid on flowers of certain cacti where larvae feed and drop to the soil to pupate (Connell, 1956). Develops from egg to adult in 10 to 15 days at 27ºC (Connell, 1956). Larvae illustrated and described by Connell, 1956.

References:
Connell WA (1956) – larvae and adult descriptions, key to larvae and adults, feeding habits, and development
Peck SB, Thomas MC (1998) – distribution

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HOW TO CITE THIS WORK:

DiLorenzo, C.L., G.S. Powell, A.R. Cline, and J.V. McHugh (2021) Carpophiline-ID, a taxonomic web resource for the identification of Carpophilinae (Nitidulidae) of eastern North America. (vers. 01.19.2021) University of Georgia, retrieved from https://site.caes.uga.edu/carpophiline-id/