Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Explanation of Names
Medetera Fischer von Waldheim 1819
Numbers
~50 spp. in our area, hundreds total
Identification
"The genus has a distinctive habitus, which with little practice is easily recognized, even by the unaided eye. In addition to its characteristic stance in life, the combination of the heavily sclerotized proboscis, strongly flattened mesoscutum, and the distinctive arch of both R4+5 and M enables one to spot the genus at a glance." (Bickel 1985)
Food
Larvae usually eat larvae of bark beetles (Scolytinae). Adults eat a wide variety of soft-bodied arthropods.