Velleius dilatatus
Encyclopedia
The rove beetle
Velleius dilatatus lives together with the European hornet
Vespa crabro crabro.
Velleius dilatatus is up to 26 mm long. It feeds on detritus
produced by the hornets (an example of commensalism
). The beetles cannot survive without the hornets themselves, even if there is enough detritus present.
It finds hornet nests by its very good sense of smell
. Most nests contain an average of ten V. dilatatus.
Rove beetle
The rove beetles are a large family of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra that leave more than half of their abdomens exposed. With over 46,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the second largest family of beetles after the Curculionidae...
Velleius dilatatus lives together with the European hornet
European hornet
The European hornet Vespa crabro, commonly known simply as the "hornet", is the largest European eusocial wasp. The queen measures 25 to 50 mm long; males and workers are smaller...
Vespa crabro crabro.
Velleius dilatatus is up to 26 mm long. It feeds on detritus
Detritus
Detritus is a biological term used to describe dead or waste organic material.Detritus may also refer to:* Detritus , a geological term used to describe the particles of rock produced by weathering...
produced by the hornets (an example of commensalism
Commensalism
In ecology, commensalism is a class of relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits but the other is neutral...
). The beetles cannot survive without the hornets themselves, even if there is enough detritus present.
It finds hornet nests by its very good sense of smell
Olfaction
Olfaction is the sense of smell. This sense is mediated by specialized sensory cells of the nasal cavity of vertebrates, and, by analogy, sensory cells of the antennae of invertebrates...
. Most nests contain an average of ten V. dilatatus.