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Family Latridiidae - Minute Brown Scavenger Beetles
Classification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Coccinelloidea
No Taxon (Coccinellid group)
Family Latridiidae (Minute Brown Scavenger Beetles)
Other Common Names Mold and Plaster Beetles (for household and stored product pest taxa) Synonyms and other taxonomic changes Lathridiidae, Corticariidae
Akalyptoischion has been recently moved to the family of its own (1)
Explanation of Names Latridiidae Erichson 1842 Numbers over 140 spp. in 16 genera in our area, ~1000 spp. in ~30 genera worldwide (2)(3)(4)(5)
Overview of our faunaTaxa not yet in the guide are marked (*)
Family Latridiidae
Identification Tarsal formula 3-3-3, size 3 mm or less, and elongate-oval shape serve to separate this family (3)
Two subfamilies of rather different appearance:
Latridiinae: Body glabrous, or (rarely) with erect setae. Head, pronotum and elytra often with heavy sculpture dorsally (longitudinal grooves, ridges). Pronotal side margin usually smooth
Corticariinae: Body finely pubescent, hairs in most cases recumbent. Head, pronotum and elytra never with heavy sculpture dorsally, except for a subbasal circular pit or shallow transversal groove. Pronotal side margin often serrate
Range worldwide; most diverse in temperate climates, in our area, most diverse in the west (3); several spp. (associated with stored products) are cosmopolitan (6)Habitat rotting vegetable matter; some species live in houses on damp wallpaper, moldy bread, etc. or otherwise associated with stored products.
Latridiinae are generally associated with leaf litter in nature (3)
Corticariinae can be collected by sweeping dead, low lying vegetation.
Season Most prevalent during wetter seasons (3)Food fungal tissues (slime molds, molds, mildew, spores of "higher" fungi) Remarks Many taxonomic changes over the last two decades -- some quite confusing, with familiar names of genera often used in a different sense then before:
former Lathridius is now split into Cartodere, Stephostethus, Thes
several former Enicmus spp. are now Lathridius
former Cartodere are now Dienerella
Works Cited | 3. | 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. |  |
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