Family Melyridae - Soft-winged Flower Beetles

Includes Malachiinae and Dasytinae(1), often treated as separate families, esp. by European workers

520 spp. in 58 genera in our area(1)

Overview of our fauna:

Family MELYRIDAE

Taxa not yet in the guide are marked (*)

Subfamily Malachiinae

Tribe Carphurini Chaetocoelus

Tribe Malachiini Condylops, *Troglops, Nodopus, Temnopsophus, Hypebaeus, *Ebaeus, *Charopus, Attalus, Attalusinus, Endeodes, Tanaops, *Trophimus, Ablechrus, Microlipus, Malachius, Axinotarsus, Anthocomus, Collops

Subfamily Rhadalinae

Rhadalus, Semijulistus, Dasyrhadus

Subfamily Melyrinae

Melyrodes, *Melyris

Subfamily Dasytinae

Tribe Dasytini Dolichosoma, *Hoppingiana, Dasytes, *Dasytellus, *Dasytastes, Eschatocrepis, *Vectura, *Vecturoides, Leptovectura, *Amphivectura, *Enallonyx, *Mectemycor, *Mecomycter, Scuromanius

Tribe Listrini Listrus, Scelopristis, *Asydates, *Pseudasydates, *Eutricholistra, *Sydates, *Adasytes, *Cradytes, *Eudasytes, Trichochrous, *Eutrichopleurus, Byturosomus, *Trichochronellus, *Listropsis, [*Paradasytes prob. a jun.syn. of Dasytellus(2)], *Neadasytes, *Listromimus, *Listrimorpha

2-7 mm

Adult: body may have a soft appearance from the numerous erect hairs; front coxae prominent; antennae insert in front of the head above the mandibles; many species have a fleshy lobe between the tarsal claws, and some have orange eversible sacs along the sides of the abdomen that are sometimes visible [adapted from(3)]

worldwide and over most of the US and so. Canada (2 spp. reach NT; none in YT-AK)(1)(4)

adults common on flowers; larvae in various habitats, most commonly in soil, leaf litter, or under bark

chiefly insects but food preferences vary; adults evidently feed on flower-visiting insects and pollen, larvae are primarily predators of other insects