unidentified Meligethes sp.

Meligethes is a difficult genus and as I've been working through scores of specimens for identification I've encountered a number of challenges. Some of these I eventually overcame and others I have ignored as I think the most likely ID was the very common Meligethes aeneus, but for whatever reason (e.g. badly preserved specimen) I couldn't fully resolve them.

The following individuals feel like they are worth not forgetting about and I suspect I may be able to resolve them in future when I've got a bit more experience with different species.

This was swept from mixed low vegetation. When I first examined it I tentatively thought it might be Meligethes morosus but with it being a female I was unable to confirm it genitalically. Later on I reached a male specimen from very nearby which did prove to be morosus and at first that boosted my confidence - but looking at this one more closely again I found a number of small differences which caused me to doubt whether it was morosus. I don't feel able to resolve it at present but welcome feedback. I've got three photos of the clypeus taken from slightly different angles as I couldn't easily determine if its front edge was concave or straight - at first I thought concave but in the end (the third photo was taken after cleaning it in KOH briefly and then alcohol) I decided it looked straight.

unidentified female Meligethes sp., showing its clypeus (3 angles), fore tibia (both) and elytra, North Elmham Cathedral Meadows (Norfolk, UK), 12th April 2022

I examined this one soon after finding it and before I'd been through all the other Meligethes specimens I'd collected over the years. I completely messed it up, tentatively identifying it as one species and dissecting it in order to look for an aedeagus. It proved to be a female so I didn't find one and at that point I realised I had probably keyed it to the wrong subgenus. I had damaged the beetle quite badly and with some legs having come off it I think at one point I must have been looking at a mid tibia thinking it was a fore tibia. After getting completely confused and pretty much destroying the specimen in the process all I'm left with now is these two photos and an irrelevant photo of a different tibia. The teeth on the (real) fore tibia look quite distinctive but I can't confidently match them to any of the diagrams in Duff.

unidentified female Meligethes sp., showing irs fore tibia, Wendling Beck Environment Project (Norfolk, UK), 11th April 2022

This may be the same species as the one above - at least the fore tibial teeth look pretty similar although not exactly the same. I had a better look at this one but I'm still not convinced about what it is. Hopefully I will catch a male before too long and the penny will drop - or if in the meantime you recognise it please let me know.

unidentified female Meligethes sp., showing irs fore tibia, clypeus, elytral base and sternites (including close-up of area behind hind coxa), Ling Plantation, North Elmham (Norfolk, UK), 6th April 2024