Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta:
Subclass: Dicondylia
Infraclass: Pterygota
Superorder: Neoptera
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Elateriformia
Superfamily: Elateroidea
Family: Lycidae
Subfamily: Metriorrhynchinae
Genus: Porrostoma
Subgenus: Porrostoma
Species: P. rufipenne
Binomial name: Porrostoma rufipenne
Synonyms: Metriorhynchus erraticus, Porrostoma rufipennis
Common name: Redwinged Lycid Beetle, Red winged beetle.
Porrostoma rufipenne is a red coloured soft-bodied (12mm long) beetle from Australia. There are about 3500 species of net-winged beetles worldwide but P. rufipenne is the only one in New Zealand. They feed on nectar and pollen from flowers during the day and their grubs (larva) live under the bark of fallen logs. They are present in the North Island and the top of the South Island. They are often mistaken for a moth.
Photographed January at 350 m.a.s.l. South Taranaki, on the edge of Mt Egmont National Park.
Photographed New Plymouth December.
Photos below are of 10 mm Porrostoma rufipenne larva.
The underside of a larva.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
