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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Elateriformia » Elateroidea » Small False Click Beetles (Throscidae)

Family Throscidae - Small False Click Beetles

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited
Throscidae? - Aulonothroscus A Beetle that Clicks! - Pactopus horni A Beetle that Clicks! - Pactopus horni Trixagus sericeus - Trixagus mendax Sonora-6 - Pactopus horni Throscidae, via Malaise trap in old burn with lots of ocean spray in bloom Small False Click Beetle - Pactopus horni Throscidae - Trixagus chevrolati? - Small false ground beetle - Trixagus
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 Throscidae (Small False Click Beetles)
Other Common Names
Cross-cut borers -- so named because of their habit of boring across the grain of the wood(1)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Trixagidae
phyletic relationship with Elateridae not fully resolved(2)
Explanation of Names
Throscidae Laporte 1840
Numbers
20 spp. in 3 genera in our area, ~150 spp. in 5 genera worldwide(3)(4)
Size
1-6 mm(3)(5)
Identification
Old revision in(6); Atlantic Canada spp. keyed and illustrated in(2)
Range
Most parts of the world(5), incl. much of NA (but most spp. east of the Great Plains)(3)
Habitat
Mostly lowland and mid-elevational forested areas(3); larvae often taken in soil, some have been collected in rotten conifer wood and grass tufts(5)
Food
Soil-inhabiting larvae feed on ectomycorrhizal fungi on tree roots(5)
Remarks
Adults have a remarkable leaping ability that spares them from bird beaks and other beetle mandibles.(1)
Another defensive strategy: On the under surface, each beetle has grooves whose contours complement those of the antennae and legs. Folding and tucking these appendages leaves no loose ends for grasping. The beetle can roll and bounce to cover.(1)
Internet References
Family overview(5)
Works Cited
1.Hidden Company that Trees Keep: Life from Treetops to Root Tips
James B. Nardi. 2023. Princeton University Press.
2.The Throscidae (Coleoptera) of Atlantic Canada
C.G. Majka. 2011. Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society 7: 20-24.
3.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.
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.Lawrence J.F., et al. (2000-2005) Elateriformia (Coleoptera): descriptions, illustrations, identification...
6.Revision of the Throscidae of North America (Coleoptera)
Blanchard F. 1917. Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. 43: 1-26.
Contributed by Phillip Harpootlian on 8 April, 2005 - 8:59am
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 25 September, 2023 - 1:32pm

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