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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Cucujoidea » Cucujid series » Lined Flat Bark Beetles (Laemophloeidae)

Family Laemophloeidae - Lined Flat Bark Beetles

Classification · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · Remarks · Print References · Works Cited

Laemophloeus apache Thomas - Laemophloeus apache

Rhabdophloeus horni (Casey) - Rhabdophloeus horni

Laemophloeidae (Lined Flat Bark Beetle) - Laemophloeus biguttatus

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)

Superfamily Cucujoidea

No Taxon (Cucujid series)

Family Laemophloeidae (Lined Flat Bark Beetles)

Explanation of Names

Laemophloeidae Ganglbauer 1899

Numbers

52 spp. in 13 genera in our area, ~430 spp. in 37 genera worldwide(1)(2)

Overview of our fauna:

Family LAEMOPHLOEIDAE

Charaphloeus · Cryptolestes · Deinophloeus · Dysmerus · Laemophloeus · Leptophloeus · Lathropus · Metaxyphloeus · Narthecius · Parandrita · Phloeolaemus · Placonotus · Rhabdophloeus

Size

1-5 mm (mostly 1.5-3 mm)(1)

Identification

body usually flattened, head and pronotum with sublateral lines, elytral cells, long antennae(1)

most US spp. illustrated in(3)

Range

worldwide; most diverse in tropics(1)

Habitat

forested areas (under bark); stored grain(1)

Food

apparently, mostly fungus; some predacious on bark beetles; stored grain (several spp are important pests)(1)

Remarks

The larvae of some Cryptolestes are unique among insects in having paired prosternal silk glands with which the spin a cocoon within which they pupate(1)

No other insect or arthropod is known to produce silk and build cocoons in this manner.(4)

Print References

(5)

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.	Thomas M.C. (2003) Laemophloeidae of Florida

4.	Hidden Company that Trees Keep: Life from Treetops to Root Tips James B. Nardi. 2023. Princeton University Press.

5.	The flat bark beetles of Florida (Coleoptera: Silvanidae, Passandridae, Laemophloeidae) Thomas M.C. 1993. Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas 15: viii+93 pp.

Contributed by Phillip Harpootlian on 28 April, 2005 - 7:28am
Additional contributions by Bbarnd, Mike Quinn, Ron M., v belov, Marci Hess
Last updated 24 September, 2023 - 10:48am

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