Oedemera

Oedemera
	Oedemera atrata, male
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Oedemeridae
Tribe:	Oedemerini
Genus:	Oedemera; Olivier, 1789
Subgenera
	Oncomera Stephens, 1832; Stenaxis Schmidt, 1846; Oedemera s. str.;
Synonyms
	Aedemera Olivier, 1789 (missp.); Stenolytra Dillwyn, 1829; Oedemerina A.Costa, 1852; Oedemerastra Seidlitz, 1899; Oedemerella Seidlitz, 1899; Oedemeronia Seidlitz, 1899; Oncomerina Seidlitz, 1899; Oedemra Auctt. (missp.); Oncomerella Reitter, 1911;

Oedemera is a genus of beetles of the family Oedemeridae, subfamily Oedemerinae.^[1]

Description

Species in the genus Oedemera include slender, soft-bodied beetles of medium size, between 5 and 20 mm of length. Their colours may be bright and metallic (green, golden, copper), black and yellow and brown and black. The jaws are bifid at the apex, the last segment of maxillary palps is narrow and elongated, the antennae are long and threadlike. The elytra of most species are narrowed behind exposing part of the hind wings. The pronotum lacks lateral edges and is much narrower than elytra. The tibiae have two apical spines, in most species the hind femora of males are strongly dilated.

Biology and ecology

The species of the genus Oedemera feed on pollen and nectar and their body is covered with abundant pubescence on which pollen grains remain attached, thus contributing to pollination of the plants they frequent.

The species of the subgenus Oncomera fly at dusk and at night, visiting the flowers and inflorescences of aromatic shrubs and various plants (Clematis, Crataegus, Tilia, Quercus, etc.).

By contrast, the species of the subgenus Stenaxis and Oedemera s. str. are diurnal, flying in full sun in the middle of the day and visiting flowers of different families such as Asteraceae, Cistaceae, Apiaceae, etc..

Distribution

This genus includes about eighty species, distributed from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa to Kamchatka, Kuriles, Japan and Taiwan, with some species in North Eastern Region.