Mold beetle

Mold beetle
Thortus sp.
Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta) Order : Beetle (Coleoptera) Subordination : Polyphaga Partial order : Cucujiformia Superfamily : Cucujoidea Family : Mold beetle
Scientific name
Cryptophagidae
Kirby , 1837

The mold beetles (Cryptophagidae) are a family in the order of the beetles (Coleoptera) and can be found in all eco-zones .

features

The representatives of the family of mold beetles reach a length of 0.8 ( genus Ephistemus ) to five millimeters (genus Antherophagus ). They are inconspicuously colored and mostly brown, brown-red or black. The beetles usually have an elongated or cylindrical shape (rarely rounded) and have strong antennae with a mostly three-part, rarely two-part, antennae lobe. The pronotum is serrated on the side edges and provided with cup-like front corners. The legs are usually five-limbed in both sexes, but there are also male specimens with the foot formula 5-5-4.

Occurrence

The representatives of the mold beetle can be found in organic waste, in hollow trees and also in the structures of vertebrates or insects . The mold beetles are common worldwide.

Way of life

The beetles and larvae of the mold beetles live in organic waste and feed on mold , feces and young plants.

Systematics

Around 900 species have been described worldwide, and other previously undiscovered species are suspected. The mold beetle family is represented in Europe with five subfamilies and almost 250 species, in Central Europe there are around 130. The following overview contains the subfamilies and genera represented in Europe.

Subfamily Alfieriellinae

• Genus Alfieriella

Subfamily Atomariinae

• Genus Atomaria
• Genus Curelius
• Genus Ephistemus
• Genus Ootype
• Genus Caenoscelis
• Genus Sternodea

Subfamily Cryptophaginae

• Genus Antherophagus
• Genus Cryptophagus
• Genus Henoticus
• Genus Micrambe
• Genus Paramecosoma
• Genus Pteryngium
• Genus Spaniophaenus
• Genus Spavius

Subfamily Hypocoprinae

• Genus Hypocoprus

Subfamily Telmatophilinae

• Genus Telmatophilus

credentials

1. ↑ Cryptophagidae. Fauna Europaea, Version 1.3, April 19, 2007 , accessed on July 19, 2007 . 
2. ↑ Jiři Zahradník, Irmgard Jung, Dieter Jung et al .: Käfer Central and Northwest Europe , Parey Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-490-27118-1

literature

• Edmund Reitter : Fauna Germanica - The beetles of the German Empire. Volume 3, KG Lutz, Stuttgart 1911
• Edmund Reitter: Fauna Germanica - The beetles of the German Empire. 5 volumes, Stuttgart KG Lutz 1908–1916, digital library volume 134, Directmedia Publishing GmbH, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-898-53534-7
• Bernhard Schnepf: Investigations into the carrion-dwelling beetle fauna of Erlangen. Erlangen 2007, PDF

Web links

Commons : Cryptophagidae  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Mold beetle. In: Lexicon of the pests. Archived from the original on October 31, 2006 ; Retrieved April 1, 2013 .