Subgenus Melanthaxia Richter, 1949

Type species: Anthaxia godeti Gory & Laporte, 1839 .

Black, dark bronze, only exceptionally blue, blue-violet or green species without pronotal or elytral pattern (Figs. 12, 13); pronotum more or less regularly convex, lateroposterior depressions often small or weak, pronotal sculpture usually rough consisting of coarse, polygonal cells (often longitudinally prolonged along lateral margins), with large central grains (Figs. 43); pronotum very often with four small, rounded depressions at midlength (Fig. 12); subhumeral lobe very weak, as well as the lateral elytral emargination (Figs. 35, 36); elytral epipleura wide, not reaching elytral apex; aedeagus spindle-shaped or elongate, parameres always without lateral spines, median lobe without lateral serrations (Figs. 57–59); anal ventrite of female apically rounded or truncate; male meso- and metatrochanters of some species with small or large spine; sexual dichromatism absent, exceptionally expressed only by slightly different colouration of frons or ventral surface.

One of the best defined subgenera of Anthaxia, which is also well-characterised by its bionomy.

BIONOMY. Development in Conifers; the majority of species are flower-visitors.

DISTRIBUTION: Holoarctic region; the distribution more or less mirrors the distribution of the genus Carabus Linnaeus, 1759 (Carabidae) .

SPECIES INCLUDED. The following species-groups are included: aeneogaster species-group, californica species-group, carmen species-group, conradti species-group, helvetica species-group, istriana species-group, leechi species-group, morio species-group, nanula species-group, neofunerula species-group, obesa species-group, oregonensis species-group, prasina species-group, quadripunctata species-group, strigata species-group, sturanyi species-group. Also in this subgenus there are many species which have not been attributed to any species-group, so far.