Blaps Fabricius 1775
Creators: name: Nabozhenko, Maxim V.
name: Chigray, Ivan A.
name: Ntatsopoulos, Konstantinos
name: Papadopoulou, Anna
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Coleoptera
Tenebrionidae
Blaps

description: A key to the Blaps from Eastern Europe and Russia (males)
(Except for Blaps rybalovi Tschernyshev & Mordkovitsh, 2002, which is known only by female specimens)
Notes. Since the final status of Blaps nitida Fischer von Waldheim, 1844 is unclear (Chigray & Ivanov 2020), this taxon and B. lethifera are given in the same key couplet.
1 Ventral lamella between tarsal claws acute, triangular or lanceolate at apex....................................... 2
- Ventral lamella between tarsal claws obtuse, straight or widely rounded at apex................................... 3
2 Mucro very short, abruptly bifurcated at base, in the shape of two triangular processes. Abdominal ventrite 1 with two transverse tooth-like tubercles; ventrite 5 with brush of long hairs at apex. Caspian depression, south to Izberbash (Dagestan)......................................................................... B. pruinosa Eversmann, 1833 (Figs 1A, B)
- Mucro long, narrow, bifurcated at apex. Abdominal ventrite 1 with small rounded tubercle between metacoxae; ventrite 5 without hair brush at apex. S Crimea ........................................ B. gigas (Linnaeus, 1767) (Figs 2A, B)
3 Abdomen with hair tuft between ventrites 1 and 2........................................................... 4
- Abdomen without hair tuft between ventrites 1 and 2....................................................... 13
4 Outer elytral deflected margin (pseudopleural carina) wholly visible dorsally. Eastern Siberia (Transbaikal, Tuva)................................................................... B. miliaria Fischer von Waldheim, 1844 (Figs 3A, B)
- Outer elytral deflected margin (pseudopleural carina) partly concealed by lateral sides of elytra in dorsal view........... 5
5 Protibiae with short and sharp emargination at base of inner side. NE Crimea and northern environs.................................................................................. B. tibialis Reiche & Saulcy, 1857 (Figs 4A, B)
- Protibiae without emargination at base of inner side......................................................... 6
6 Flexion side of profemora with large projected dentiform keel with widely rounded margin and deep, wide emargination before apex. Eastern Siberia (Tuva)..................................... B. femoralis medusula Skopin, 1964 (Figs 5A, B)
- Flexion side of profemora without dentiform keel or with slightly projected keel and wide, gentle, not deep emargination... 7
7 Elytra covered with dense coarse wrinkles mixed with rough raduliform punctation, rugose (Figs 6–7)................. 8
- Elytra smoother, not coarsely rugose, sometimes with fine, poorly visible wrinkles................................. 9
8 Elytra more elongate (1.9 times as long as wide). Antennae longer, reaching elytral base when directed backwards. Greater Caucasus (in Russia: mountain areas of Dagestan and Chechnya)................ B. verrucosa Adams, 1817 (Figs 6A, B)
- Elytra less elongate (1.4–1.55 times as long as wide). Antennae shorter, extending beyond half of pronotal length but not reaching base. Eastern Siberia (Transbaikal, Tuva, south of Krasnoyarsk Region)..... B. rugosa Gebler, 1825 (Figs 7A, B)
9 Mucro long (4.0– 7.5 mm)............................................. B. mortisaga Linnaeus, 1758 (Figs 8A, B)
- Mucro short (1.1–2.3 mm)............................................................................. 10
10 Spurs of mesotibiae oval, wide and long, their length subequal to mesotarsomere 1......................................................................................... Blaps parvicollis parvicollis Zubkov, 1829 (Figs 9A, B)
- Spurs of mesotibiae narrow triangular, with acute apex, 1.5–3 times shorter than mesotarsomere 1.................... 11
11 Outer margins of prohypomera neither flattened nor narrowly explanated (Fig. 10D). North Caucasus (xerophytic mountains in Dagestan, Cheсhnya)............................................... B. subalpina Ménétriés, 1832 (Figs 10A, B)
- Outer margins of prohypomera flattened or narrowly explanated at least anteriorly (Fig. 11D)....................... 12
12 Elytra evenly convex, sometimes narrowly flattened along suture. Abdominal ventrites wide, ratio of width to length of 1–5 ventrites 1.86, 3.03, 3.27, 4.81, 1.78 respectively. Tarsi shorter. Europe, south of Western Siberia east to Altay ...................................................................... B. lethifera Marsham, 1802 (Figs 11A, B), B. nitida
- Elytral disc widely flattened. Abdominal ventrites narrower, ratio of width to length of 1–5 ventrites 1.74, 2.81, 3, 4.1, 1.63 respectively. Tarsi longer and slender. The central part of the North Caucasus..................................................................................... B. caucasica Nabozhenko et Chigray sp. n. (Figs 12A, B, 13, 14)
13 Mucro absent. Altay .................................................. B. tenuicornis Gebler, 1847 (Figs 15A, B)
- Mucro present...................................................................................... 14
14 Metatibia with sharp thickness in apical half. Europe, south of Western Siberia east to Altay ................................................................................. B. halophila Fischer von Waldheim, 1820 (Figs 16A, B)
- Metatibiae evenly widened from proximal to distal part...................................................... 15
15 Lateral sides of pronotum not flattened, evenly convex. Novosibirsk (invasion)..... B. aff. oblonga Kraatz, 1883 (Fig. 17A)
- Lateral sides of pronotum flattened, often with raised margins................................................ 16
16 Antennae long, with apical antennomere extending beyond base of pronotum when directed backwards. Elytra smooth or with microwrinkles. S Crimea ............................................. B. mucronata Latreille, 1804 (Figs 18A, B)
- Antennae short, with apical part extending beyond pronotal middle, but not reaching base of pronotum................ 17
17. Pronotum and elytra strongly shiny. Apical piece of aedeagus strongly elongate, 3.37 times as long as wide. Western Siberia (Altay Region), Eastern Siberia (Transbaikal, Tuva)..................... B. variolosa Faldermann, 1835 (Figs 19A–C)
- Pronotum and elytra dull. Apical piece of aedeagus much wider, 2.14 times as long as wide. Eastern Siberia (Krasnoyarsk Region, Transbaikal, Tuva)................................................ B. reflexa Gebler, 1832 (Fig. 20A–C)
A key of Blaps from Eastern Europe and Russia (females)
(Except for the ambiguous invasive species B. aff. oblonga, which is known only by one male)
1 Ventral lamella between tarsal claws acute, triangular or lanceolate at apex....................................... 2
- Ventral lamella between tarsal claws obtuse, straight or widely rounded at apex................................... 3
2 Body large (length 30–34 mm), slender (2.7 times as long as wide). Mucro well developed, bifurcate at apex.................................................................................................. B. gigas (Fig. 2C)
- Body smaller (length 20–29 mm) and robuster (2–2.1 times as long as wide). Mucro very short, reduced to two separate triangles........................................................................... B. pruinosa (Fig. 1C)
3 Outer elytral deflected margin (pseudopleural carina) wholly visible dorsally..................................... 4
- Outer elytral deflected margin (pseudopleural carina) posteriorly concealed by lateral sides of elytra in dorsal view....... 5
4 Lateral margins of pronotum flattened and raised. Pronotum with simple smoothed punctation. Elytra weakly flattened along suture.............................................................................. B. miliaria (Fig. 3C)
- Lateral margins of pronotum flattened, but not raised. Pronotum covered with tiny granules. Elytral disc convex............................................................................................. B. reflexa (Fig. 20D)
5 Flexion side of profemora with large projected keel with widely rounded margin and deep wide emargination before apex... ................................................................................................... 6
- Flexion side of profemora without keel or with slightly projected keel and wide, gentle, not deep emargination before apex.. ................................................................................................... 7
6 Body robust (body length 2.2 times as long as wide). Antennae short, with apical antennomere reaching basal third of pronotum.................................................................. B. femoralis medusula (Fig. 5C)
- Body slender (2.45 times as long as wide). Antennae long, with apical antennomere extending beyond base of pronotum.................................................................................... B. tenuicornis (Fig. 15C)
7 Protibiae with sharp emargination at base of inner side........................................ B. tibialis (Fig. 4C)
- Protibiae without sharp emargination at base of inner side..................................................... 8
8 Antennae longer, with apical antennomere reaching or extending beyond base of pronotum.......................... 9
- Antennae shorter, with apical antennomere reaching only basal third of pronotum, but not reaching base of pronotum.... 12
9 Mucro absent........................................................................ B. rybalovi (Fig. 21)
- Mucro moderately long or short, but well developed........................................................ 10
10 Elytra rugose....................................................................... B. verrucosa (Fig. 6C)
- Elytra smooth, often with fine micro-wrinkles............................................................. 11
11 Body slender (2.7 times as long as wide), mucro long (ratio of mucro length to total elytral length with mucro 1: 9). Apical antennomere reaching base of pronotum, but not extending beyond base....................... B. mortisaga (Fig. 8C)
- Body robuster (2.3 times as long as wide), mucro short (ratio of mucro length to total elytral length with mucro 1: 15). Antennomeres 10 and 11 extending beyond base of pronotum............................... B. mucronata (Fig. 18C)
12 Reservoirs of spermatheca only slightly widened in apical half................................................ 13
- Reservoirs of spermatheca clavate, spherical or ellipsoidal at apex............................................. 14
13. Lateral margins and base of pronotum widely flattened; middle of disc covered with large very sparse punctures, anterior, lateral and basal parts covered with finer and denser punctures, each with granule. Punctation of elytra very coarse, forming coarse rugosity..................................................................... B. variolosa (Fig. 19D)
- Lateral margins of pronotum narrowly flattened or not flattened, base not flattened, convex. Pronotum with simple fine punctation without granules. Elytra smooth.............................................. B. halophila (Fig. 16C)
14 Outer sides of prohypomera weakly explanated or at least separated from the rest of surface........................ 15
- Outer sides of prohypomera not explanated and or separated from the rest surface only near anterior angles............ 17
15 Spurs widened and flattened. Reservoirs of spermatheca spherical, connected to common tube at base........................................................................................... B. parvicollis parvicollis (Fig. 9C)
- Spurs simple, not flattened, narrow. Reservoirs of spermatheca ellipsoidal, separated.............................. 16
16 Abdominal ventrites wide, ratio of width to length of ventrites 1–5: 1.86, 3.03, 3.27, 4.81, 1.78. Tarsi short, pro-, meso- and metatarsi respectively 1.75, 1.44, 1.78 times shorter than respective tibiae............... B. lethifera (Fig. 11C), B. nitida
- Abdominal ventrites narrower, ratio of width to length of ventrites 1–5: 1.74, 2.81, 3, 4.1, 1.63. Tarsi longer, pro-, meso- and metatarsi respectively 1.53, 1.26, 1.36 times shorter than respective tibiae....... B. caucasica sp. n. (Figs 12C, 13F, G, 14)
17 Outer margins of prohypomera explanated only near anterior angles. Elytra wider (1.3 times as long as wide), covered with coarse, raduliform punctures and strongly rugose (Fig. 7C)............................................. B. rugosa
- Outer margins of prohypomera not explanated. Elytra more elongate (1.5 times as long as wide), smooth, with simple and small raduliform punctures (Fig. 10C)............................................................... B. subalpina
description: Published as part of Nabozhenko, Maxim V., Chigray, Ivan A., Ntatsopoulos, Konstantinos & Papadopoulou, Anna, 2022, A key to Russian and Eastern European species of Blaps Fabricius, 1775 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Blaptinae) with the description of a new species from the North Caucasus supported by morphological and molecular data, pp. 267-291 in Zootaxa 5116 (2) on pages 269-282, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5116.2.5, http://zenodo.org/record/6367323