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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » Darkling Beetles (Tenebrionidae) » Tenebrioninae » Tenebrionini » Mealworm beetles (Tenebrio) » Dark Mealworm (Tenebrio obscurus)

Species Tenebrio obscurus - Dark Mealworm

Classification · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)

Superfamily Tenebrionoidea

Family Tenebrionidae (Darkling Beetles)

Subfamily Tenebrioninae

Tribe Tenebrionini

Genus Tenebrio (Mealworm beetles)

Species obscurus (Dark Mealworm)

Explanation of Names

Tenebrio obscurus Fabricius 1792

the common name refers to the darker colour of larvae compared to those of T. molitor

Size

14-17 mm (1)

Identification

dorsum dull (unlike in T. molitor), front legs enlarged in males

Range

scattered US records (1)

most of the temperate regions worldwide(2); introduced to NA ca. 1860(3)

Habitat

In Canada most commonly reported in the litter of chicken coops, birdhouses, stables(2)

Food

materials of animal and vegetable origin(2): refuse grain, coarse cereal, mill products, meat scraps, dead insects, and feathers(4)

Remarks

storage pest (1)

Internet References

Darkling Beetles of FL & E. US (1)

Works Cited

1.	The Darkling Beetles of Florida and Eastern United States (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Dunford et al. 2005. University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Dept., Gainesville.

2.	Beetles associated with stored products in Canada: An identification guide Bousquet Y. 1990. Research Branch Agriculture Canada, Publication 1837.

3.	The Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada Majka C.G., Bouchard P., Bousquet Y. 2008. Can. Entomol. 140: 690‒713.

4.	Handbook of urban insects and arachnids: A handbook of urban entomology Robinson W.H. 2005. Cambridge University Press.

Contributed by Boris Büche on 2 April, 2007 - 6:25am
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 3 June, 2015 - 1:59pm

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