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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Series Elateriformia » Click, Firefly and Soldier Beetles (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

Firefly look alike - Podabrus brevicollis

Soldier beetle from WA (2) 10.07.16 - Malthodes

Pennsylvania Beetle for ID - Polemius laticornis

I think lewisi , but maybe omissus? - Chauliognathus lewisi

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles)

No Taxon (Series Elateriformia)

Superfamily Elateroidea (Click, Firefly and Soldier Beetles)

Family Cantharidae (Soldier Beetles)

Other Common Names

Leatherwings

Explanation of Names

Cantharidae Imhoff 1856

see Cantharis

common names: 'soldier beetle' comes from bright coloration resembling military uniforms; 'leatherwing,' for soft, flexible 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

Adult beetles are soft and somewhat flattened, with parallel sides, long legs and long, usually threadlike antennae. Many species colorful--aposematic (1). Lack light organs. Head typically protrudes (somewhat) from under pronotum--mostly visible from above, unlike in 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, often on 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)

- Range: 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. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification 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 15 March, 2022 - 7:17pm

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