Glaphyrid beetles of the genera Pygopleurus and Eulasia are the main pollinators of flowers of the so-called "poppy guild" in the East Mediterranean region. This guild consists of species of the genera Tulipa, Ranunculus, Papaver, Adonis, Glaucium and Anemone. They share certain characteristic traits like red, bowl-shaped flowers, a dark spot at the base of the corolla, and lack a strong scent. In contrast to the majority of the members of these genera, which usually reflect in the UV-range,

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... "poppy guild flowers" in the Mediterranean region seem to lack UV-reflectance. Behavioural tests have shown that various species of the glaphyrid genera Pygopleurus and Eulasia ("Amphicoma" sensu Dafni et al. 1990) prefer scentless, red-coloured flower models, suggesting that they are the pollinators of these flowers. Recent electrophysiological data on the visual system of Eulasia pietschmanni Breit (Coleoptera: Glaphyridae) have shown that the beetle possesses three photoreceptor types which peak in the UV, green and red part of the light spectrum. To explore the possibility of red-vision in these two genera, molecular investigations of the pupative visual pigment as well as field studies were conducted. The investigation of the visual pigment resulted in the sequencing of an approximately 360-400 bp fragment of the long-wavelength opsin for the taxa Pygopleurus diffusus as well as Eulasia pareyssei. Unfortunately, efforts to obtain full length sequences were without success. NJ-analyses grouped the partial sequences in the long-wavelength cluster of the examined insect opsins. Comparisons with already known spectral tuning sites in butterflies were conducted to reveal possible amino acid substitutions which are responsible for a long-wavelength shift. Additional analyses of the mitochondrial CO1-region of four individuals of Pygopleurus diffusus and two individuals of Eulasia pareyssei were conducted to allow easier identification of species in future studies. In a field study, I investigated the distribution and polli [...]