Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Elateriformia » Elateroidea » Soldier Beetles (Cantharidae) » Chauliognathinae » Chauliognathini » Chauliognathus

Genus Chauliognathus

Long Yellow Beetle - Chauliognathus misellus Margined Leatherwing - Chauliognathus marginatus Chauliognathus discus? - Chauliognathus discus - male - female Chauliognathus lewisi soldier beetles - Chauliognathus transversus - male - female Orange and Black Slender Beetle - Chauliognathus omissus soldier beetle ?? - Chauliognathus marginatus Pennsylvania Leatherwing? laying eggs on leaf - Chauliognathus pensylvanicus - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Elateriformia)
Superfamily Elateroidea
Family Cantharidae (Soldier Beetles)
Subfamily Chauliognathinae
Tribe Chauliognathini
Genus Chauliognathus
Explanation of Names
Chauliognathus Hentz 1830
Greek 'protruding jaws'
Numbers
19 spp. in our area, hundreds worldwide(1)
Size
8-14 mm
Identification
key to species in(2)
Range
in N. America, widespread(1) but much more diverse in the south; C. pennsylvanicus and C. marginatus are widely eastern (both range into Canada), other spp. mostly in sw. US(2)(3)
Season
Summer into fall in temperate areas
Food
Larvae are predators. Adults of our spp. feed on pollen and nectar(1). Adults are also known to prey on other insects.
Life Cycle
They overwinter as larvae underground. There can be as many as 10 instars.
Remarks
Adults are frequently found on flowers and are probably good pollinators.
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.The Chauliognathini of America north of Mexico (Coleoptera-Cantharidae). Parts 1 & 2
Fender K.M. 1964. Northwest Science 38: 52–64, 95-106.
3.Checklist of beetles (Coleoptera) of Canada and Alaska. Second edition
Bousquet Y., Bouchard P., Davies A.E., Sikes D.S. 2013. ZooKeys 360: 1–402.
Contributed by Cotinis on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, McClarinJ, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 22 April, 2022 - 5:24pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo