Zopherus nodulosus

Zopherus nodulosus haldemani

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Coleopterida
Ordo: Coleoptera
Subordo: Polyphaga
Infraordo: Cucujiformia
Superfamilia: Tenebrionoidea

Familia: Zopheridae
Subfamilia: Zopherinae
Tribus: Zopherini
Genus: Zopherus
Species: Zopherus nodulosus

Zopherus nodulosus, common name Haldeman's Ironclad beetle,[2] is a species of ironclad beetle in the family Zopheridae.[3] It is found in Central America and North America.[4][5][6]

The species name nodulosus refers to the bumps or nodes on the beetle's back.[7][8]

Subspecies

Zopherus nodulosus haldemani pattern variation
Z. n. haldemani

Z. n. haldemani (Horn, 1870),[3][9] also known as the Texas Ironclad Beetle,[8] can grow between 1.5 and 2 centimetres in length. The body is a blotchy black-and-white pattern, and the legs are fully black.[10][11] The subspecies name, haldemani, references the Haldeman brothers (Samuel Haldeman and Horace Haldeman), the former a naturalist and philologist, the latter a soldier and one of the first people to concentrate on insect collection in Texas.[12][13][8][9]

They are thought to feed on lichen and dead plant material.[8][11] Females have been observed laying eggs on American elms, and larvae and pupae have been found in pecan wood,[11][9] which "apparently serves as the developmental site for this species".[11] They are found in East and Central Texas.[14][9]
Z. n. nodulosus

Z. n. nodulosus can grow between 1.4 and 2.8 centimetres in length, and 0.5 to 1.1 cm in width.[15]

Z. n. haldemani

Z. n. nodulosus

References

"Zopherus nodulosus Solier, 1841".
Society, National Geographic. "Four Haldeman'S Iron Clad Beetles". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
"Zopherus nodulosus Solier, 1841". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
"Zopherus nodulosus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
"Zopherus nodulosus". GBIF. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
"Zopherus nodulosus species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2020-01-25.
"Texas Ironclad Beetle". Field Station. 2020-03-11. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
"One Tough Coleoptera". Arrants Outdoors, LLC. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
"Ironclad Beetle (Zopherus haldemani)". texasento.net. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
"Ironclad beetle". Project Noah. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
""Ironclad" Beetle". texasinsects.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
"TSHA | Haldeman, Horace". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
"Samuel Steman Haldeman". Home. Retrieved 2022-07-20.
"Bug o'the Week - Texas Ironclad Beetle - Riveredge Nature Center". www.riveredgenaturecenter.org. Retrieved 2022-07-20.

A Review of the Genus Zopherus of the World (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) by Triplehorn, Charles