British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera
British Insects: the Families of Coleoptera |
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Fungus-beetles.
General appearance. 1.1–6 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 1.3–3. Elytral length/pronotal length 2.32–4. 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 broadly oval to elongate; not necked; not waisted to somewhat waisted; brown or dark brown, sometimes with orange markings; exhibiting bright ‘warning colours’, or without ‘warning colouration’. Upper surfaces of body glabrous or subglabrous, or non-glabrous; not bristly; with neither scales nor scale-like setae.
Detailed morphology. Beetles without a rostrum. The head not covered by the thorax. Eyes strongly protuberant; bristly, or without bristles; coarsely facetted. Antennae short; 11 segmented. Antennal scape swollen, or not swollen (?). Antennae gradually expanding acropetally to clubbed. Antennal clubs 2 segmented, or 3 segmented; not comprising two small basal segments and a large terminal one. Antennal insertions visible from above, or hidden from above. Mandibular prosthecae well developed.
Prothorax shorter than wide. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.38–0.91. Prothorax at its widest not markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. Fore coxal cavites closed behind. The tarsi without bilobed segments; without ‘hidden’ segments (but the first and fourth segments longer than the second and third). Mid-leg tarsi 3-segmented, or 4-segmented; tetramerous, or trimerous. Claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi, or with one segment fewer than the mid-tarsi; 3-segmented (sometimes, in males), or 4-segmented. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 3-segmented, or 4-segmented. Tarsal claws simple, or one-toothed or bifid. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 1.16–1.97. Elytra covering most of the abdomen; exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite; smooth; finely punctate- striate. Scutellary striole present, or absent. Elytra non-glabrous (with semi-erect pubescence); 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.
Abdominal tergites 9. Visible abdominal sternites 5; immovably joined 0. Abdominal segment 8 apparently without functional spiracles.
Habitat, ecology. Land-dwellers; not predacious; mycetophagous; in decaying plant material, in rotting wood, associated with fungi, and in stored plant products (in mouldy materials).
Larvae. Larvae not predacious; mycetophagous; in decaying plant material, in rotting wood, in fungi, and in stored plant products (in mouldy materials).
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Superfamily Cucujoidea.
British representation. Genera 5; 12 species. E.g., Mycetophagus piceus (Orange-spotted Fungus-eater); Mycetophagus multipunctatus; Typhaea stercorea.
Illustrations. • Mycetophagus piceus (Orange-spotted Fungus-eater: B. Ent. 156). • Mycetaphagus piceus: B. Ent. 156, legend+text. • Typhaea stercorea (Janson 97). • Mycetophagus multipunctatus (Rye & Fowler VII2).
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: 9th June 2008. http://delta-intkey.com’.
