Family Ptilodactylidae - Toe-winged Beetles

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Internet References · Works Cited

Ptilodactyla serricollis, male adult - Ptilodactyla serricollis - male

Toe-winged Beetle - Ptilodactyla carinata - male

Also in the Ceanothus - Araeopidius monachus

Lachnodactyla arizonica? - Lachnodactyla arizonica

Female, Lachnodactyla arizonica? - Lachnodactyla arizonica - female

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Elateriformia)

Superfamily Byrrhoidea

Family Ptilodactylidae (Toe-winged Beetles)

Other Common Names

Toed-winged Beetles

Explanation of Names

Ptilodactylidae Laporte 1836

Numbers

ca. 25 spp. in 6 genera of 4 subfamilies in our area (4 spp. reach Canada), ~500 spp. in 34 genera of 5 subfamilies worldwide (of which ¾ in Ptilodactyla)(1)(2)(3)

Size

2-16 mm(1)

Identification

body brownish or yellowish-brown; head usually hidden from above; antennae long, bearing a slender process on segments 4-10; scutellum heart-shaped, notched anteriorly

Range

mainly tropical; in our area, most spp. are in e. US, with a few scattered in the west and Canada(1)

Habitat

adults on vegetation in moist shady places, often near water; come to lights; larvae in decaying logs, beaver houses, and leaf mold; some (Anchytarsus) are aquatic

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.	Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta) Bouchard P. et al. 2011. ZooKeys 88: 1–972.

4.	Lawrence J.F., et al. (2000-2005) Elateriformia (Coleoptera): descriptions, illustrations, identification...

Contributed by Phillip Harpootlian on 16 March, 2005 - 11:44am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Robin McLeod, Tim Moyer, v belov
Last updated 12 January, 2015 - 10:19pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2023 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version