British insects: the families of Coleoptera
British insects: the families of Coleoptera | |
Including Ischaliidae, Lagriidae part, Melöidae part, Notoxidae, Pedilidae part, Pyrochroidae part.
General appearance. 2.5–4.5 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 1.9–3.8. Elytral length/pronotal length 1.9–5.1. Base of prothorax not or scarcely narrower than the combined elytral bases, or distinctly narrower than the combined elytral bases. Greatest prothoracic width not narrower or only slightly narrower than the greatest elytral width, or distinctly narrower than greatest elytral width. Beetles elongate; conspicuously necked, or not necked (the neck then hidden by a forwardly-directed projection from the thorax); somewhat waisted to conspicuously waisted; brown, black or red, often banded or spotted; exhibiting bright ‘warning colours’, or without ‘warning colouration’. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous, or non-glabrous; exhibiting stiff, erect, dark bristles, or not bristly; exhibiting scales or scale-like setae, or with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Beetles prognathous, or not prognathous. Inclination of the head slight, or strong. Eyes strongly protuberant, or not strongly protuberant; bristly, or without bristles. Ocelli absent. Antennae short to about half the insect's head to tail length; 11–12 segmented. Antennal scape swollen to not swollen. Antennae filiform (or moniliform), or gradually expanding towards the apex. Antennal insertions visible from above, or hidden from above; not in fossae. Mandibular prosthecae well developed to absent. Prothorax longer than wide. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.73–1.9. Prothorax at its widest markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. Fore coxal cavites closed behind. Hind coxae not shaped posteriorly to receive the femur. Tarsal segmentation formula 5, 5, 4. The tarsi exhibiting bilobed segments; without ‘hidden’ segments. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 5-segmented. Mid-leg tarsi 5-segmented; pentamerous. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi simple, or one-toothed or bifid, or serrate, denticulate or pectinate; with an empodium between them (this with no more than two setae), or without an associated empodium. Hind tarsi with one segment fewer than the mid-tarsi; 4-segmented. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 1.35–3.7. Elytra covering most to all of the abdomen; exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite to at least three complete abdominal tergites. Scutellary striole present, or absent. Elytra non-glabrous; without epipleura. Wings well developed, or absent or much reduced. Exposed abdominal sternites 4–6; all fused and immovable. Abdominal segment 8 apparently without functional spiracles.
Adult habitat, ecology. Not predacious (?); in living vegetation, in decaying plant material, and associated with dung (in various habitats).
Larvae. Larvae not predacious (?).
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Infraorder Cucujiformia; Superfamily Tenebrionoidea.
Worldwide and British representation. About 3000 species worldwide; genera about 100. 16 species in Britain; genera in Britain 2; Anthicus, Notoxus. E.g., N. monoceros, A. instabilis.
General comments. Slender beetles of small to moderate size, the pubescent body brown, black or red and often banded or spotted.
Illustrations. • Anthicus instabilis: B. Ent. 714. • Anthicus instabilis: B. Ent. 714, legend+text. • Anthicus instabilis: B. Ent. 714, text cont.. • Anthicus (7 spp.) and Notoxus paradoxus (cf. N. monoceros?, with Anaspis and Metoecus): Fowler 5, 150 (1891). • Fowler 5, 150 (1891): original legend.. • Anthicus bimaculatus, with Aderidae and Meloïdae: Fowler 5, 151 (1891). • Fowler 5, 151 (1891): original legend.. • Anthicus instabilis (Janson 164, 144). • Nototoxus monoceros (Rye & Fowler X5).
To view the illustrations with detailed captions, go to the interactive key. This also offers full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Coleoptera. Version: 2nd January 2012. http://delta-intkey.com’.
