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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Elateriformia » Elateroidea » False Soldier Beetles (Omethidae)

Family Omethidae - False Soldier Beetles

Blatchleya gracilis (Blatchley) - Blatchleya gracilis - male Omethes marginatus LeConte - Omethes marginatus Omethes marginatus Blatchleya gracilis Cantharid-like beetle - Troglomethes oregonensis Ginglymocladus discoidea Red Beetle - Matheteus theveneti Ginglymocladus sp - Ginglymocladus luteicollis - male
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Elateriformia)
Superfamily Elateroidea
Family Omethidae (False Soldier Beetles)
Explanation of Names
Omethidae LeConte 1861
Numbers
10 spp. in 7 genera of 2 subfamilies in our area, >30 spp. in 8 genera of 3 subfamilies worldwide (Driloninae, with >20 spp. in a single genus, is Oriental)(1)
Identification
Labrum distinct and sclerotized; abdomen lacking paired glandular openings on tergites; both tarsomeres 3 and 4 with bifid ventral lobes.
Range
except for one Oriental genus and the Holarctic Omethus (1 sp. in e. US + 1 sp. in Japan), the rest are endemic to NA, with Blatchleya known from OH-IN-TN and 5 genera restricted to the Pacific states (CA-OR)(1)
Habitat
mostly taken from foliage during the day; some in forest litter(1)
Remarks
rarely encountered; biology, incl. feeding habits, is barely known(1)
Internet References
Family overview(2)
Works Cited
1.American Beetles, Volume II: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea
Arnett, R.H., Jr., M. C. Thomas, P. E. Skelley and J. H. Frank. (eds.). 2002. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL.
2.Lawrence J.F., et al. (2000-2005) Elateriformia (Coleoptera): descriptions, illustrations, identification...
Contributed by Boris Büche on 16 May, 2007 - 4:04am
Additional contributions by Phillip Harpootlian, Mike Quinn, v belov, Arturo Santos
Last updated 17 August, 2021 - 3:00am

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