Necrobia rufipes, the red-legged ham beetle, is a species of predatory beetle, in the family Cleridae, with a cosmopolitan distribution,[1] first described by Charles De Geer in 1775.
| Necrobia rufipes | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Cleridae |
| Genus: | Necrobia |
| Species: | N. rufipes
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| Binomial name | |
| Necrobia rufipes (Fabricius, 1781)
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The adult beetles are 3.5–7.0 millimetres (0.1–0.3 in) long, convex, straight sided, and the surface has indentations called punctures. They are shiny metallic green or greenish blue. The legs and antennae are red (dark clubs). They feed on the meat-infesting larvae of Calliphora or blow flies, Dermestidae and Piophilidae. The adults are surface feeders; the larvae bore into dry or smoked meats and do most damage. The red-legged ham beetle also attacks bones, hides, copra, dried egg, cheese, guano, bone meal, dried figs, and palm nut kernels. Although refrigeration has reduced the impact of the beetle on meats, they are a significant destructive pest of dried and salt fish including herring. It was well documented as a threat to agriculture by 1925.[2]
Necrobia rufipes has been recorded in Egyptian mummies[3] and were once known as Necrobia mumiarum (Rev. F.W. Hope, 1834).
Two related species are Necrobia violacea which has all-dark legs and antennae, and Necrobia ruficollis, which has light-coloured bases of the elytra (shoulders). Although similar, neither are as destructive as N. rufipes. This species should not be confused with its cousin, Korynetes caeruleus, another steely-blue beetle in the family Cleridae. Both species have a significance in forensic entomology but for different reasons.
References
edit- ^ C. P. Haines & D. P. Rees (1989). "Necrobia rufipes". A field guide to the types of insects and mites infesting cured fish. Food and Agriculture Organization. ISBN 92-5-102827-3.
- ^ Simmons, Perez; Ellington, George W. (1 May 1925). "The Ham Beetle Necrobia rufipes De Geer". Journal of Agricultural Research. XXX (9): 845. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
- ^ Ebeling, Walter (2002-08-23). "Chapter 7 Pests of Stored Food Products". Urban Entomology. University of California Riverside. Archived from the original on 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
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