beetle - Enoclerus quadrisignatus

Moved

… Tyler Hedlund, 1 November, 2022 - 8:49am

We just have come to learn what clerids look like

So we typed clerid into the search and looked through the images that were returned for something that looked similar.
Wish we could say that if you click on the image of a beetle in the black and white guide to the left and then scroll down that info page, that the clerids would jump out at you. Maybe we need more images of clerids on that page. There is one image that looks generally like yours, but it would be pretty easy to miss it unfortunately.

… john and jane balaban, 31 October, 2022 - 7:14pm

Clerid

Must be related to

… john and jane balaban, 31 October, 2022 - 5:05pm

Oh, my!

Thank you!
Can you tell me how you were able to identify this guy? I couldn't even get him down to family.

… dvoribird, 31 October, 2022 - 6:01pm

Family level ID

In general, clerids are very hairy and have the general body shape as yours (though there are some weird ones of course). Many are colorful or have nice patterning. But usually if I see a hairy longer bodied beetle I check in/around Cleridae first.

… Tyler Hedlund, 1 November, 2022 - 8:20am

Thank you!

Thank you, Tyler -- this helps!
Do you think these guys and/or other Cleridae are predators?
Also, is there an online key that would help us ID beetles at least to family level?

… dvoribird, 2 November, 2022 - 8:00am

You're welcome!

Larval clerids are absolutely predators, boring into wood to munch on larval buprestids and cerambycids. Adults might be, but I usually find them sitting on flowers, so probably eating the pollen.

There are some online keys to family, but they tend to get into nitty-gritty features very quickly, typically involving a specimen on a pin and a microscope. But that's largely because there are so many families (~130 in BG's range!).

This key doesn't cover all the families, but it covers most of the common ones - FL Beetle Key. It is a bit dated taxonomically, but still useful.

… Tyler Hedlund, 2 November, 2022 - 8:18am