British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera
British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera |
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~Bostrychidae.
General appearance. 2.7–6 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 2.45–3.65. Elytral length/pronotal length 2.6–3.25. 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; dorsally flattened; not necked; conspicuously waisted. Upper surfaces of body non-glabrous; not bristly; exhibiting scales or scale-like setae, or with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Eyes strongly protuberant; without bristles; finely facetted. Antennae short; 11 segmented. Antennal scape not swollen. Antennae clubbed. Antennal clubs 2 segmented. Antennal insertions hidden from above (but head visible from above). Mandibular prosthecae present but reduced, or absent.
Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.8–1.16. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. The tarsi without bilobed segments; with a tiny penultimate segment hidden by lobing of the one proximal to it (pseudotrimerous), or without ‘hidden’ segments. Mid-leg tarsi 4-segmented, or 5-segmented; pentamerous, or pseudotrimeous. Claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 4-segmented, or 5-segmented. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 4-segmented, or 5-segmented. Tarsal claws simple. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 1.65–2.7. Elytra covering most of the abdomen; exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite. Scutellary striole present. Elytra non-glabrous. Wings well developed.
Visible abdominal sternites 5; immovably joined 0, or 2. Abdominal segment 8 with apparently functional spiracles.
Habitat, ecology. Land-dwellers; not predacious; eating dried plant material or stored plant products (e.g., dried plant roots), or boring into dead wood; in rotting wood and in dried plant material (in dry herb roots, and in dead wood: associated with felled oaks).
General comments. The thorax sculptured, with longitudinal costae.
Larvae. Larvae not predacious; eating dried plant material or stored plant products and boring into dead wood; in rotting wood and in dried plant material (in dry herb roots, and in dead wood: associated with felled oaks).
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Superfamily Bostrichoidea.
British representation. Genera 2; 6 species. E.g., Lyctus brunneus, L. fuscus.
Illustrations. • Lyctus brunneus, Lyctus linearis.
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: 18th September 2008. http://delta-intkey.com’.
