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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Scarab Beetles (Scarabaeidae) » Fruit and Flower Chafers (Cetoniinae) » Cremastocheilini » Anteater Scarab Beetles (Cremastocheilus)

Genus Cremastocheilus - Anteater Scarab Beetles

Classification · Other Common Names · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
desert beetle. Ironclad? - Cremastocheilus crinitus Cremastocheilus canaliculatus Seems we got two spp. - Cremastocheilus mexicanus Cremastocheilus canaliculatus beetle - Cremastocheilus angularis quadricolllis ? - Cremastocheilus saucius Cremastocheilus sp. - Cremastocheilus depressus Cremastocheilus sp. - Cremastocheilus knochii
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea
Family Scarabaeidae (Scarab Beetles)
Subfamily Cetoniinae (Fruit and Flower Chafers)
Tribe Cremastocheilini
Genus Cremastocheilus (Anteater Scarab Beetles)
Other Common Names
Ant Scarabs
Explanation of Names
Cremastocheilus Knoch 1801
Numbers
ca. 35 spp. in our area(1) (may change soon: the group is under revision by W.B. Warner)
Size
9-15 mm
Identification
Typically flattened, dull, black. Elytra crinkled and/or pitted, not striated. Mouthparts highly modified, scooped underneath(2); larvae covered with long, silky hairs(3)
key in (4)
images of all spp. accessible from the AntWiki page
Range
Much of NA
Habitat
mostly ant nests, adults sometimes under dung
Season
Adults often overwinter in ant mounds, and emerge in spring to mate (5); March-September in NC, March-June in SC
Food
Adults may feed on ant brood; larvae may prey on ant larvae, or feed on vegetation collected by some ants, but the relationship is not clear(5)(6)
Print References
Alpert G.D. (1994) A comparative study of the symbiotic relationships between beetles of the genus Cremastocheilus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and their host ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 25: 1-276.
Internet References
Taxon page (AntWiki)
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.Peterson Field Guides: Beetles
Richard E. White. 1983. Houghton Mifflin Company.
3.California Insects
Jerry A. Powell, Charles L. Hogue. 1989. University of California Press.
4.Key to the New World Cremastocheilini, with notes and descriptions of a new genus
Howden H.F. 1971. Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash. 73: 224‒230.
5.Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
Phillip J. Harpootlian. 2001. Clemson University Public Service.
6.The Beetle Fauna of Rhode Island, an Annotated Checklist
Derek Sikes. 2004. Rhode Island Natural History Survey.
Contributed by Phillip Harpootlian on 28 March, 2005 - 7:15am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 3 July, 2021 - 5:06pm

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