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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Fungus, Bark, Darkling and Blister Beetles (Tenebrionoidea) » Darkling Beetles (Tenebrionidae) » Tenebrioninae » Tenebrionini » Mealworm beetles (Tenebrio)

Genus Tenebrio - Mealworm beetles

large brown tenebrionid - Tenebrio molitor dark purplish beetle - Tenebrio molitor dark purplish beetle - Tenebrio molitor Dark Beetle - Tenebrio molitor Yellow Mealworm Beetle (Tenebrio molitor) - Tenebrio Yellow Mealworm Beetle (Tenebrio molitor) - Tenebrio Yellow Mealworm Beetle (Tenebrio molitor) - Tenebrio Larve - Tenebrio molitor - Tenebrio molitor
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Longhorn, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Tenebrionoidea (Fungus, Bark, Darkling and Blister Beetles)
Family Tenebrionidae (Darkling Beetles)
Subfamily Tenebrioninae
Tribe Tenebrionini
Genus Tenebrio (Mealworm beetles)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Tenebrio Linnaeus, 1758
Explanation of Names
Latin "one who loves darkness, a trickster". In turn tenebrio is from Latin tenebrae, darkness (1) (2).
Numbers
See Remarks.
Remarks
Two species in North America only*.
Both are mainly found in buildings and storage, but may also occur in hollow trees, their natural habitat.

*: Nearctica lists four species, but in error. T.picipes has been transferred to Neatus (and probably does occur in Europe only), T.olivensis is an African species, now also transferred to a genus quite remote from Tenebrio.
Print References
Borror, entry for tenebrio (1)
The Century Dictionary--entries for tenebrio, tenebrionidae (2)
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
By Donald J. Borror
2.The Century Dictionary: an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language
Contributed by Eric R. Eaton on 9 November, 2005 - 3:04pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Boris Bueche
Last updated 21 November, 2009 - 3:44am

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