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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Elateriformia » Elateroidea » Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae)

Family Cantharidae - Soldier Beetles

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · See Also · Internet References · Works Cited
Malthodes again? - Malthodes 3016127 Trypherus - Trypherus Mating Goldenrod Soldier Beetles - Chauliognathus pensylvanicus - male - female Soldier beetle larva Unknown Beetle - Atalantycha bilineata Chauliognathus basalis? - Chauliognathus basalis - male - female SB - Podabrus Unidentified beetle in Alabama - Podabrus
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 Cantharidae (Soldier Beetles)
Other Common Names
Leatherwings
Explanation of Names
Cantharidae Imhoff 1856
see Cantharis
common names: 'soldier beetle' comes from coloration resembling military uniform; 'leatherwing,' refers to soft elytra
Numbers
>470 spp. in 23 genera in our area(1), ~5100 spp. in 160 genera worldwide(2)
Overview of our fauna* –taxa not yet in the guide
Family CANTHARIDAE
Subfamily Cantharinae
Tribe Cantharini Cantharis · Cultellunguis · Cyrtomoptera · *Podistra · Rhagonycha · Rhaxonycha · Atalantycha · Pacificanthia
Tribe Podabrini Dichelotarsus · Podabrus
Subfamily Silinae
Tribe Silini Discodon · Ditemnus · Polemius · Silis
Tribe Tytthonyxini Tytthonyx
Subfamily Malthininae
Tribe Malthinini Malthinus · Caccodes
Tribe Malthodini Malthodes · Frostia
Subfamily Chauliognathinae
Tribe Chauliognathini Belotus · Chauliognathus
Tribe Ichthyurini *Ichthyurus · Trypherus
Identification
Head typically protrudes from under pronotum, visible from above, unlike in most Lampyridae. Tarsal formula 5-5-5, with the fourth segment lobed:

Larvae usually velvety:
Keys to eastern spp. in (3)
Range
worldwide and throughout NA(1)
Habitat
Adults mostly on vegetation, incl. flowers; larvae in leaf litter, loose soil, rotten wood, etc.(1)
Food
Adults eat nectar, pollen, other insects; larvae are fluid-feeding predators, feed on insect eggs and larvae(1)
Remarks
active mostly during the day, but some come to lights(1)
See Also
Osphya varians (Melandryidae) e.NA
Lampyridae (fireflies)
Internet References
Family overview(4)
Works Cited
1.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.
2.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.
3.The Cantharidae of Eastern Canada and Northeastern United States
Pelletier G., Hébert C. 2014. CJAI 25.
4.Lawrence J.F., et al. (2000-2005) Elateriformia (Coleoptera): descriptions, illustrations, identification...
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Hannah Nendick-Mason, Phillip Harpootlian, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 19 December, 2024 - 5:12pm

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