Subfamily Pselaphinae - Ant-loving Beetles

Short-winged Mold Beetles

formerly considered a separate family, Pselaphidae

Pselaphinae Latreille 1802

710 spp. in >100 genera in our area(1)(2), >10,500 spp. in >1,300 genera worldwide(3)

0.5‒5.5 mm (average 1.5 mm)(1)

abdomen broader than head and usually not flexible; elytra short, exposing much of the upper surface of the abdomen; antennae clubbed

worldwide

under stones, loose bark, moss, forest litter, and in ant nests

Pselaphines are predators; they do not feed on mold(1)

Three obligate troglobiotic spp. from central TX are federally listed as endangered: Batrisodes texanus, B. venyivi, and Texamaurops reddelli (Chandler D.S. 1992) The Pselaphidae (Coleoptera) of Texas caves. In: Reddell J.R., ed. Studies on the cave and endogean fauna of North America II. Speleological Monographs 3, Texas Memorial Museum, Austin: 241‒253.