Explanation of Names
Greek for "triple, three-fold"
Numbers
18 spp. in our area, dozens worldwide
(1), 9 spp. in Canada
(2)Identification
Most species have reddish-orange pronotum and black elytra; T. festiva has orange band across elytra. Larvae are known for many species, but none formally described.
Range
worldwide and throughout NA (US and so. Canada), as follows:
(1)(3)
1 transcontinental sp. (T. thoracica)
8 eastern spp., of which 3 range into Canada and one restricted to FL
4 western spp., of which 3 range into Canada
4 southwestern spp.
1 sp. restricted to TX
Habitat
in woodlands on gill or polypore fungi
(4)Season
Apr-Oct in IL; year-round in southern states
Food
larvae and adults feed either on
Pleurotus (Tricholomataceae) or Polyporaceae, esp.
Inonotus(4)(3)Print References
Boyle W.W. (1962) A new species of Triplax from Arizona (Coleoptera: Erotylidae). Pan-Pac. Entomol. 38: 29‒30.
Goodrich M.A., Skelley P.E. (1993) The Pleasing Fungus Beetles of Illinois (Coleoptera: Erotylidae). Part II. Triplacinae.
Triplax and
Ischyrus. Trans. Ill. State Acad. Sci. 86: 153‒171(
Full text)
Goodrich M.A., Skelley P.E. (1997) New synonymy in the genus Triplax Herbst (Coleoptera: Erotylidae), with notes on the biology of Triplax californica LeConte. Ann. Zool. (Warszawa) 47: 55‒58.