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Family Endomychidae - Handsome Fungus Beetles

Handsome Fungus Beetle - Phymaphora pulchella - female handsome fungus beetle - Aphorista laeta Handsome Fungus Beetle - Stenotarsus hispidus Aphorista laeta (LeConte) - Aphorista laeta Danae testacea Beetle - Aphorista morosa  Epipocus gorhami? - Epipocus Epipocus, maybe E. opacus? - Epipocus - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Coccinelloidea
No Taxon (Coccinellid group)
Family Endomychidae (Handsome Fungus Beetles)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
formerly treated to include Anamorphidae, Mycetaeidae, and Eupsilobiidae; arrangement in the Guide follows(1)
Merophysiinae used to be treated in Latridiidae
Explanation of Names
Endomychidae Leach 1815
Numbers
8 subfamilies, with 45 spp. in 22 genera in our area(2)(3) and ~1800 described spp. in 130 genera worldwide(4)(5)
Overview of our faunaTaxa not yet in the guide are marked (*)
Family Endomychidae



Subfamily Epipocinae Epipocus



Subfamily Pleganophorinae Trochoideus

Subfamily Xenomycetinae Xenomycetes


Groups formerly treated in Endomychidae


Size
1-10 mm, mostly 4-8 mm(2)
Identification
photos of a representative sample of eastern spp. provided in(6)(7)
Range
worldwide and across NA, with the highest diversity in tropical and subtropical areas(8)
Habitat
mostly under bark of dead trees with close associated with the fruiting bodies of macrofungi or in leaf litter, but some are commonly found in many other habitats, like tree holes; a few inhabit ant/termite nests or caves(9)
Food
spores and hyphae of various fungi, primarily macro-Basidiomycetes (Hymenomycetes and Aphyllophorales), some also on myxomycetes; host records summarized in(9); members of two exotic genera prey on scales & some other arthropods(9)
Life Cycle
natural history of the group summarized in(9)
See Also
Internet References
Endomychidae in the Strohecker Collection –- images of all the species represented in the collection of Henry F. Strohecker (1905-1988), the most influential endomychid taxonomist of the 20th century (NO LONGER AVAILABLE as of 13.viii.2015, but images mirrored here)
Works Cited
1.Phylogeny and classification of Cucujoidea and the recognition of a new superfamily Coccinelloidea (Coleoptera: Cucujiformia)
Robertson J.A., Ślipiński A., Moulton M., Shockley F.W., Giorgi A., Lord N.P., McKenna D.D., Tomaszewska W., Forrester J. ... 2015. Syst. Entomol. doi: 10.1111/syen.12138.
2.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.
3.A catalog of Coleoptera of America north of Mexico. Family: Endomychidae
Strohecker H.F. 1986. USDA Agriculture handbook no. 529-98. viii + 19 pp.
4.Order Coleoptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang Z.-Q. (ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification...
Ślipiński S.A., Leschen R.A.B., Lawrence J.F. 2011. Zootaxa 3148: 203–208.
5.An annotated checklist of the handsome fungus beetles of the world (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Endomychidae)
Shockley et al. 2009. Zootaxa 1999: 1-113.
6.The Handsome Fungus Beetles (Coleoptera: Endomychidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, by F.W. Shockley and J.V. McHugh
7.Price M.B., Cira T. (2008) Endomychidae of Wisconsin
8.A synopsis of the Endomychidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea) of Mexico
Arriaga-Varela E., Tomaszewska K.W., Navarrete-Heredia J.L. 2007. Zootaxa 1594: 1–38.
9.Review of the natural history of the handsome fungus beetles (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Endomychidae)
Shockley F.W., Tomaszewska K.W., McHugh J.V. 2009. Insecta Mundi 0072: 1-24.