British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera
British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera |
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= Orthoperidae.
General appearance. 0.5–1 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 1.25–2.4. Elytral length/pronotal length 1.45–4.16. Base of prothorax not or scarcely 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. Body noticeably widest immediately behind the thorax, or not noticeably widest either behind the thorax, or at the rear. Beetles broadly oval; dorsally more or less convex; not necked; not waisted; decidedly short-legged; brown, yellow, reddish yellow or pitchy. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous, or non-glabrous; not bristly; with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Beetles not prognathous. The head very small, covered by the thorax. Inclination of the head slight to strong. Eyes strongly protuberant, or not strongly protuberant; without bristles. Antennae very short to short; 9–11 segmented; not hairy; without a much-elongated scape. Antennal scape swollen (triangular). Antennae clubbed. Antennal clubs loosely 3 segmented. Antennal insertions visible from above, or hidden from above; not in fossae. Mandibular prosthecae well developed, or absent.
Prothorax shorter than wide. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.3–0.8. Prothorax at its widest not markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen; with neither produced front corners nor serrated sides. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. The tarsi without bilobed segments (but the third segment lobed beneath); with a tiny penultimate segment hidden by lobing of the one proximal to it, or without ‘hidden’ segments. Mid-leg tarsi 4-segmented; tetramerous, or pseudotrimeous. Claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 4-segmented. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 4-segmented. Tarsal claws simple, or one-toothed or bifid; with an empodium between them (this with no more than two setae), or without an associated empodium. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 0.8–1.77. Elytra exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite to at least one but fewer than three complete abdominal tergites; glossy, or dull; without striae. Scutellary striole absent. Elytra non-glabrous (hairy); with epipleura. Elytral epipleura falling short of the elytral tips. Wings well developed, or absent or much reduced; fringed with long hairs on the hind margin, or not fringed.
Visible abdominal sternites 5–6; immovably joined 0. Abdominal segment 8 apparently without functional spiracles.
Habitat, ecology. Not predacious; mycetophagous (on spores and mycelium); in decaying plant material, in rotting wood, and under bark (commonly in vegetable refuse).
Larvae. Larvae not predacious; mycetophagous (on spores and mycelium); in decaying plant material, in rotting wood, and in or under bark.
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Superfamily Cucujoidea.
British representation. Genera 4; Corylophus, Orthoperus, Rypobius, Sericoderus. 10 species; e.g., Corylophus cassidioides.
Illustrations. • Corylophus cassidioides, Orthopterus atomus, O. atomarius, Sericoderus lateralis (with Ptiliidae and Sphaeriidae): Fowler 3, 80 (1889). • Fowler 3, 80 (1889): original legend.. • Corylophus cassidioides (Rye & Fowler XVI1).
To view the illustrations with legends (including names in current use), 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, distributions of character states within any set of taxa, source references, and other relevant material.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2003 onwards. British insects: the families of Coleoptera. Version: 21st June 2010. http://delta-intkey.com’.
