Pimelia

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Genus of beetles

title: "Pimelia" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["pimelia", "tenebrionidae-genera", "articles-containing-video-clips", "taxa-named-by-johan-christian-fabricius"] description: "Genus of beetles" topic_path: "society/religion" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimelia" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of beetles ::

| image =Pimelia (Piesterotarsa) obsoleta Solier, 1836 (3518257693).jpg | image_caption =Pimelia obsoleta | taxon = Pimelia | authority = Fabricius, 1775 | display_parents = 2

Pimelia is a genus of darkling beetles in the subfamily Pimeliinae.

Species

Reproduction

Pimelia are univoltine, with one generation per year. Species in North Africa emerge in January to begin mating, synchronously with floral bloom. Normally Pimelia are detrivores, but during mating season they may cannibalize other adults, larvae, and eggs. This behavior may be due to need for extra nutrients or simply to eliminate competitors. Following behavior and mating take place on the slip face of a sand dune. After mating, the female digs a shallow hole and deposits a single egg, which closely resembles a grain of white rice. As the temperature rises above 50 °C the adult population dies off. Immature stages remain below the surface until maturity. During the winter the adults emerge.

Desert adaptations

Many Pimelia species are conspicuous as they cross sand dunes. Locomotion in this difficult terrain is facilitated by numerous tarsal setae that allow for rapid tumbling behavior.

Adaptations to arid climates and desert environments allow Pimelia to survive and reproduce in the dunes, but the relative importance of abiotic and biotic factors in this respect is not clear. Environmental factors influencing these adaptations are extremes of temperature and humidity, excessive radiant energy, low and irregular rainfall, long periods of drought, strong winds, unstable sand substrates, and sparse, specialized vegetation.

Several morphological adaptations allow Pimelia to survive in the desert, including the lipid layers of the epicuticle, fused sclerites, the subelytral cavity, and the texture of the body surface. Much of the success of tenebrionid beetles in desert habitats is due to the development of impermeable cuticles. The fused sclerites of desert tenebrionids minimize water loss, but they result in flightlessness. The main barrier to the outward flow of water through insect integument is the lipid layer of the epicuticle. In many terrestrial arthropods, the temperature affects the permeability of the cuticle. There is a sudden increase in the rate of transpiration at what is known as the transition temperature. This may coincide with a physical change, perhaps the disorientation of the lipid molecules in the epicuticle. In tenebrionid beetles, the spiracles open into a humid subelytral cavity rather than directly to the atmosphere, thus reducing water loss. Water retention by intact elytral covers is greater at 0% relative humidity than at 97%. The size of the cavity is not important. Transpiration increases if the elytra are removed, emphasizing the importance of the epicuticle and subelytral cavity. Pimelia have tubercles on the surface of their elytra which scatter and reflect incident energy.

Burrowing is probably the most important behavior modification for heat regulation in Pimelia, because it permits access to a broad range of ambient temperatures. Pimelia are diurnal, emerging in early morning and late evening but remaining under the sand during the hot hours of the day.

Gallery

File:Pimelia angulata.JPG|Pimelia angulata File:Pimelia bipunctata.jpg|Pimelia bipunctata File:Pimelia bipunctata - 2012-10-25.webm|Pimelia bipunctata on dune near beach File:Escarabajo - Pimelia punctata (8717930430).jpg|Pimelia punctata File:Pimelia (Piesterotarsa) obsoleta Solier, 1836 (3518257693).jpg|Pimelia (Piesterotarsa) obsoleta File:Pimelia ascendens Wollaston, 1864 (14341625972).png|Pimelia ascendens File:Pimelia baluja Klug, 1830 (28489421274).png|Pimelia baluja File:Pimelia confusa Senac, 1884 (3058854966) (2).jpg|Pimelia confusa File:Pimelia laevigata Brullé, 1838 (14439393510).png|Pimelia laevigata File:Pimelia senegalensis Olivier, 1795 (29388949801).jpg|Pimelia senegalensis File:Pimelia sparsa Brullé, 1838 (14149179257).png|Pimelia sparsa File:Pimelia subglobosa (Pallas, 1781) (14626021235).png|Pimelia subglobosa

References

References

  1. (2002). "Evolutionary dynamics of satellite DNA family PIM357 in species of the genus ''Pimelia'' (Tenebrionidae, Coleoptera)". Molecular Biology and Evolution.
  2. [https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id55552/ Biolib]
  3. Ramussen, J.L., et al. (1991). The reproductive behavior of six species of Namib Desert tenebrionid beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). ''Journal of Insect Behavior'' 4(5) 567-82.
  4. Lillig, M. and T. Pavlicek. ''Die schwarzkafer des Sinai (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)''. Moscow, Russia. Pensoft. 2002.
  5. Rech, N. D. (1997). Comparison of the tumbling movement found in two species of ''Adesmia'' Fischer-Waldheim (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). ''Coleopterists Bulletin'' 51(1) 86-92.
  6. Ayal, Y. and O. Merkl. (1993). Spatial and temporal distribution of tenebrionid species (Coleoptera) in the Negev Highlands, Israel. ''Journal of Arid Environments'' 27 347-61.
  7. Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (1979). Adaptive functions of the colours of desert animals. ''Journal of Arid Environments'' 2 95-104.
  8. Adhearn, G.A. (1970). The control of water loss in desert tenebrionid beetles. ''Journal of Experimental Biology'' 53 573-95.
  9. Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (1968). Respiratory function and thermal acclimation in tropical invertebrates. ''Nature'' 218 685.
  10. Buxton, P. A. (1923). Heat, moisture, and animal's life in deserts. ''Proceedings of the Royal Society of London'' 96 123-31.
  11. Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (1956). Studies in diurnal rhythms; bioclimatic observation in Tunisia and their significance in relation to the physiology of the fauna, especially woodlice, centipedes, scorpions and beetles. ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History'' 12(9) 305-29.
  12. Hadley, N. F. (1972). Desert species and adaptation. ''American Scientist'' 60 338-47.
  13. Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. (1964). On the function of the sub-elytral cavity in desert Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera). ''Entomologist's Monthly Magazine'' 100 148-51.
  14. Hamilton, W. J. ''Coloration and its Thermal Consequences for Diurnal Desert Insects.'' Stroudsburg, PA: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross. 1975.
  15. Cloudsley-Thompson, J. L. and C. C. Constantinou. (1980). Circadian rhythmicity in ''Adesmia cancellata'' L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) from Kuwait. ''Journal of Arid Environments'' 3 319-24.
  16. {{GBIF
  17. {{NCBI taxid. 45446. ''Pimelia''

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