Nitops pallipennis (Say, 1823)

Species Fact Sheet
Nitops pallipennis (Say, 1823)

Figure 1. Male dorsal and ventral habitus

Diagnosis: Nitops pallipennis specimens are distinguished from other eastern North American species by having unicolorous elytra that are distinctly lighter than the pronotum and tergites (Fig. 1).

Distribution: Nitops pallipennis is primarily found in western North America from British Columbia to California to Mexico (Baja) and east from Saskatchewan to Texas to Florida. It is also found in the Bahamas.

Biology: N. pallipennis adults feed on the petals, pollen, and ovaries of a variety of cacti flowers (Nurein, 1965). Eggs are laid on cacti flowers and larvae will feed on petals and pollen (Nurein, 1965). Development from egg to adult in 14 to 16 days at 25ºC (Nurein, 1965).

References:
Nurein MOM (1965) – feeding habits, mating behavior, and development rates

Double-click on images to enlarge

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/