Merope tuber

Merope tuber, the earwigfly or forcepfly,[1] is the only species in the genus Merope, and the only living member of the family Meropeidae in North America. It occurs throughout the east from Ontario to Georgia, and west to Kansas. Recently the insect has also been found in Florida.[2] This insect's most distinguishing feature is the segmented cerci on the male abdomen. The function of these is not known, but they may be used during courtship. Much is unknown about the adults, which are nocturnal and secretive, sometimes found under logs or in malaise traps near streams, or attracted to lights at nighttime. No M. tuber or Meropeid larvae have been identified.[3] The insect is characterized by long wings with many veins and no ocelli. There is a region of interlocking sclerites that holds the jugum and scutellum on the middle thoracic segment together. This may be used to keep the wings together when pushing up through dirt.[4] A similar apparatus is found in cicadas and ground-dwelling beetles, so it may be that the winged adults dig in soil. The flat appearance of the insect suggests that the insect dwells close to the ground in fissures and other small ground openings,[5] as does the lack of ocelli.

Merope tuber
Merope tuber
Dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Mecoptera
Family: Meropeidae
Genus: Merope
Species:
M. tuber
Binomial name
Merope tuber
Newman, 1838
Lateral view

References
  1. R. H. Arnett. 2000. American insects: a handbook of the insects of America north of Mexico. p. 834
  2. J. C. Dunford; P. W. Kovarik; L. A. Somma; D. Serrano (July 2009). "First state records for Merope tuber (Mecoptera: Meropeidae)in Florida and biogeographical implication" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  3. Friedrich, F.; et al. (2013). "The head of Merope tuber (Meropeidae) and the phylogeny of Mecoptera (Hexapoda)" (PDF). Arthropod Structure & Development. 42: 69–88. doi:10.1016/j.asd.2012.09.006. PMID 23078868. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  4. Hlavac, T.F. (1974). "Merope tuber (Mecoptera): A wing-body interlocking mechanism". Psyche. 81: 303. doi:10.1155/1974/45917.
  5. J.C. Dunford; D. Serrano & L.A. Somma (2006). Earwigflies in the Great Smokies (PDF).

Further reading


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