Julodimorpha

Julodimorpha
Julodimorpha bakewelli from Australia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Suborder:
Polyphaga
Superfamily:
Buprestoidea
Family:
Buprestidae
Genus:
Julodimorpha

Gemminger & Harold, 1869

Julodimorpha is a genus of beetles in the family Buprestidae.

Species

Julodimorpha contains the following species:

Observations on mating behaviour

In 1983, entomologists Darryl Gwynne and David Rentz reported on male Julodimorpha saundersii (confused at that time with the closely related J. bakewelli[1]), which were observed attempting to copulate with discarded brown stubbies (a type of beer bottles) studded with tubercules (bobbly bits).[2] The beetles' behavior was an example of a supernormal stimulus. The report won Gwynne and Rentz the 2011 Ig Nobel Prize in biology.[3]

References

  1. ^ Bellamy, C.L. & T. Weir. 2008. The reinstatement of Julodimorpha saundersii Thomson 1879 (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) as a valid species. Zootaxa 1751: 46–54.
  2. ^ D. T. Gwynne, D. C. F. Rentz (February 1983). "Beetles on the Bottle: Male Buprestids Mistake Stubbies for Females (Coleoptera)". Australian Journal of Entomology. 22 (1): 79–80. doi:10.1111/j.1440-6055.1983.tb01846.x. S2CID 84325003.
  3. ^ Jonathan Amos (September 30, 2011). "Beetle's beer bottle sex wins Ig Nobel Prize". BBC News. Retrieved September 30, 2011.


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