British insects: the families of Coleoptera
British insects: the families of Coleoptera |
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= Cybocephalidae.
Sap beetles.
General appearance. 1.4–8 mm long. Body length/maximum body width 1.2–5.4. Elytral length/pronotal length 1.38–2.75. 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 oval; terrapin-like in shape, with flattened and clear margins to thorax and elytra, or not terrapin-like in shape, and without flattened and clear margins to both thorax and elytra; dorsally flattened; not necked; not waisted to somewhat waisted; decidedly short-legged; brown or black. 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 to very strong. Eyes strongly protuberant, or not strongly protuberant; bristly, or without bristles. Antennae short to longer than the insect's head to tail length; not elbowed; (9–)11 segmented; without a much-elongated scape. Antennal scape swollen. Antennae strongly clubbed. Antennal clubs 3 segmented (transversely). Antennal insertions visible from above, or hidden from above; not in fossae. Mandibular prosthecae well developed to absent. Prothorax shorter than wide. Pronotal length/maximum pronotal width 0.35–1.18. Prothorax at its widest not markedly narrower than the adjoining part of the abdomen. Prothorax without notopleural sutures. Metaventrite without a transverse groove. Hind coxae not shaped posteriorly to receive the femur. Tarsal segmentation formula 4, 4, 4. The tarsi exhibiting bilobed segments; with a tiny penultimate segment hidden by distal lobing of the fourth and fused to the fifth, or without ‘hidden’ segments. Front tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 4-segmented, or 5-segmented. Mid-leg tarsi 4-segmented, or 5-segmented; pentamerous, or pseudotetramerous, or tetramerous. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi not appendaged. The claws of the mid-leg tarsi simple, or one-toothed or bifid; with an empodium between them (this with no more than two setae), or without an associated empodium. Hind tarsi with as many segments as the mid-tarsi; 4-segmented, or 5-segmented. Elytral length/maximum width across the elytra 0.68–1.9. Elytra exposing no more than part of the terminal tergite to at least three complete abdominal tergites; strongly truncate. Scutellary striole present, or absent. Elytra with epipleura. Elytral epipleura falling short of the elytral tips. Wings well developed, or absent or much reduced. Exposed abdominal sternites 5; all articulated and movable. Abdominal segment 8 apparently without functional spiracles.
Adult habitat, ecology. Predacious and not predacious; when non-predatory, phytophagous (often feeding on pollen or nectar, decaying vegetable matter, tree sap or over-ripe fruit), or mycetophagous; in living vegetation (often in or on flowers).
Larvae. Larvae predacious and not predacious; when non-predatory, phytophagous (e.g., pollen), or consuming decaying plant material, or mycetophagous; in decaying plant material and in fungi. Larvae subcylindrical, white, with small prognathous head.
Classification. Suborder Polyphaga; Superfamily Cucujoidea.
Worldwide and British representation. Genera about 25 (?). 96 species in Britain; genera in Britain 18; Carpophilus, Cryptarcha, Epuraea, Glischrochilus, Meligethes, Nitudula, Omostia, etc. E.g., Cryptarcha undulata (Spotted Strongylus); Glischrochilus quadripunctatus (4 Orange-spotted Ips); Soronia punctatissima; Omostia colon.
Illustrations. • Amphotis, Eperua (4 spp.), Nitidula (4 spp.), Omosita (3 spp.): Fowler 3, 88 (1889). • Fowler 3, 88 (1889): original legend.. • Meligethes (10 spp.), Pocadius ferrugineus, Pria dulcamara, Thalycra fervida: Fowler 3, 89 (1889). • Fowler 3, 89 (1889): original legend.. • Cryptarcha, Cychramus, Glischrochilus, Meligethes (6 spp.), Pityophagus: Fowler 3, 90 (1889). • Fowler 3, 90 (1889): original legend.. • Cryptarcha undulata (Spotted Strongylus: B. Ent. 339). • Cryptarcha undulata (details, B. Ent. 339). • Cryptarcha undulata: B. Ent. 339, legend+text. • Cryptarcha undulata: B. Ent. 339, text cont.. • Glischrochilus quadripunctatus (4 Orange-spotted Ips: B. Ent. 306). • Glischrochilus quadripunctatus: B. Ent. 306, legend+text. • Glischrochilus quadripunctatus: B. Ent. 306, text cont.. • Omosita colon: B. Ent.675. • Omosita colon: B. Ent.675, legend+text. • Omosita colon: B. Ent.675, text cont.. • Brachypterus, Carpophilus, Epuraea (5 spp.), Kateretes (with Staphylinidae): Fowler 3, 87 (1889). • Fowler 3, 87 (1889): original legend.. • Carphophilus sexpustulatus, with unrelated taxa: Fowler Suppl. 13, 1913. • Fowler Suppl. 13, 1913: original legend.. • Omosita colon (Janson 86). • Soronia punctatissima (Rye & Fowler VI5).
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’.
