Family Tenebrionidae - Darkling Beetles

Larvae are called false wireworms.(1)

Includes Alleculidae (Comb-clawed Beetles) and Lagriidae (Long-jointed Beetles)

NA fauna catalogued in(2); taxonomic changes proposed there are not yet fully implemented in the Guide

Tenebrionidae Latreille 1802

one of the largest insect families, with ~1200 spp. in ~190 genera of 7 subfamilies in our area and almost 20,000 spp. in ~2300 genera of 9 subfam. worldwide(3)(4)(5); ca. 225 spp. east of the Mississippi River(6) and almost 5 times as many in the West(2) [~450 in CA alone(7)]

Overview of our faunaTaxa not yet in the guide are marked (*)

Family Tenebrionidae

Subfamily LAGRIINAE

Subfamily PHRENAPATINAE

Subfamily PIMELIINAE

Subfamily TENEBRIONINAE

Subfamily ALLECULINAE

Subfamily DIAPERINAE

Subfamily STENOCHIINAE

1-80 mm(3)

One of the most diverse animal families. Usually dark, a few colored and/or patterned, sometimes with red. Body shape variable. Many large species are flightless and have fused elytra. Larvae are cylindrical and hard-bodied, called "false wireworms" because they resemble click beetle larvae

worldwide and throughout NA, much more diverse in the west

Checklists: Maritime Canada(9); MD(10), OH(11), WI(12)

Typically found under stones, decaying logs, bark, on bracket fungi, or on the ground. A few species diurnal, found in open. Many species are adapted to desert conditions.

Many are scavengers of plant material as both adults and larvae. Some attracted to carrion, dead insects, dung. Some feed on fungus, often found under bark. Some are pests of stored grain and of insect collections.

Many have chemical defenses

Key to subfamilies (13)