{{Short description|Species of beetle}} {{Speciesbox | image = Meloidae - Mylabris variabilis (male).JPG | image_caption = ''Mylabris variabilis''. Dorsal view | genus = Mylabris | species = variabilis | authority = (Pallas, 1782) | synonyms_ref = <ref>[https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id14463/ Biolib] </ref> | synonyms = * ''Meloe cichorii'' Linnaeus, 1767 * ''Mylabris hypocrita'' Mulsant, 1857 * ''Mylabris mutans'' Guérin de Méneville, 1834 * ''Mylabris similaris'' Mulsant, 1857 * ''Zonabris erivanica'' Pic, 1901 }}
'''''Mylabris variabilis''''' is a species of blister beetle belonging to the Meloidae family.
==Subspecies== * ''Mylabris variabilis'' var. ''disrupta'' Baudi, 1878 * ''Mylabris variabilis'' var. ''lacera'' Fischer von Waldheim, 1827 * ''Mylabris variabilis'' var. ''mutabilis'' Mars * ''Mylabris variabilis'' var. ''sturmi'' Baudi
==Distribution== This common species is present in most of Southern Europe, from the Iberian Peninsula to southern Russia. <ref>[https://fauna-eu.org/cdm_dataportal/taxon/5e40fc2b-6b9c-4c14-a17f-9f74e9c8ed7f Fauna europaea] </ref> It can also be found in Caucaus and Transcaucasia, Near East and northern Levant, Middle East and Central Asia and Siberia. <ref name=zhao/>
==Description== thumb|240px|left|Side view ''Mylabris variabilis'' can reach a body length of {{convert|8|-|20|mm}}.<ref name = zhao> Zhao Pan, Marco A. Bologna [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262696736_Taxonomy_Bionomics_and_Faunistics_of_the_Nominate_Subgenus_of_Mylabris_Fabricius_1775_with_the_description_of_five_new_species_Coleoptera_Meloidae_Mylabrini?_sg=oKPPSGG5FImXGF-2MGZmnlOSPuXVjmgtEWfmW2Ph3I1EqRGVoRnW8nKb_7hG1FFjvme915TiUQ Taxonomy, Bionomics and Faunistics of the Nominate Subgenus of Mylabris Fabricius, 1775, with the description of five new species (Coleoptera: Meloidae: Mylabrini)]</ref> These beetles have a cylindrical, elongate body with relatively convex, yellow-orange elytra and wide transverse black wavy stripes. Head is square shaped, with a flat forehead. Antennae are black and long with eleven segments. Pronotum is long and wide, with parallel sides. <ref name=NW/> The size of the black markings and the color of elytra are very variable<ref name=zhao/> (hence the specie name ''variabilis''). The color of their elytra can range from a yellow, to orange to a light brown. Normally they have three black bands. The 1st and 2nd bands are sometimes divided into four distinct spots. <ref name = NW>[http://www.naturewonders.org/picture?/314 Nature Wonders]</ref> They are however distinguished from the similar species by a black stripe ath the end of the abdomen. This species is very similar to ''Mylabris pannonica'' Kaszab, 1956.
==Biology== This species has a very complex biological cycle. Adults fly from June to September, feeding on flowers. During the larval stage they feed on eggs and larvae of grasshoppers.<ref name=zhao/>
==Bibliography== * Heiko Bellmann (1999): Der Neue Kosmos Insektenführer. Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart. {{ISBN|3-440-07682-2}} *Heiko Bellmann: Insectes d'Europe, Artemis, Poche nature 2007, ({{ISBN|978-2-84416-525-1}}) *Michael Chinery, Insectes de France et d'Europe occidentale, Paris, Flammarion, août 2012, 320 p. ({{ISBN|978-2-0812-8823-2}}), p. 276 *Nikbakhtzadeh M.R., Tirgari S., 2002. Blister Beetles (Coleoptera: Meloidae) in Nahavand County (Hamedan Province, Iran) and Their Ecological Relationship to Other Coleopteran Families, Iranian J. Publ. Health, Vol. 31, Nos. 1-2, PP. 55-62. *Özbek H., Szaloki D., 1998. A contribution to the knowledge of the Meloidae (Coleoptera) fauna of Turkey along with new records, TÜBİTAK, Tr. J. of Zoology 22, 23-40.
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://insecta.pro/taxonomy/994444 Insecta.pro] {{Taxonbar|from=Q464610}}
Category:Meloidae Category:Beetles described in 1782