Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events


TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData

Species Gibbium aequinoctiale - Smooth Spider Beetle

Unidentified Insect - Gibbium aequinoctiale smooth spider beetle? - Gibbium aequinoctiale Beetle - Gibbium aequinoctiale Gibbium sp.? - Gibbium aequinoctiale Coleoptera nymph? Gibbium? - Gibbium aequinoctiale Coleoptera nymph? Gibbium? - Gibbium aequinoctiale Tiny brown insect - Gibbium aequinoctiale Gibbium aequinoctiale
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
Superfamily Bostrichoidea
Family Ptinidae (Death-watch and Spider Beetles)
Subfamily Ptininae (Spider Beetles)
Tribe Gibbiini
Genus Gibbium
Species aequinoctiale (Smooth Spider Beetle)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
references to Gibbium psylloides outside the Old World are most likely this species
Explanation of Names
Gibbium aequinoctiale Boieldieu 1854
Size
2.1–2.7 mm(1)
Identification
Elytra fused and inflated, completely glabrous (smooth). Can only be confused with Mezium, but pronotum distinctive.
often confused with G. psylloides(1)
Range
e. NA, Calif. - Map (2)
Cosmopolitan but more common in warm climes(3), and very few records in Europe; origin unknown ("tropical, subtropical"); found in stored goods across NA(4)(1)
Habitat
prefer dark areas, mainly in houses, flour mills, occasionally warehouses, hospitals, stores(3)
Food
wide variety of dead organic materials; may be a dry stored product pest stored seeds, wheat, bran, stale bread, decaying animal and vegetable refuse, rat droppings, stored wheat, baby food, dog biscuits, cereals, woolens, towels, leather, paste, and tallow and opium cake
Remarks
has a remarkable ability to avoid drying out and can withstand temperatures as high as 56°C (133°F) (Yoder et al. 2009)
See Also
Mezium affine Boieldieu
Print References
Yoder JA, Chambers MJ, Tank JL, Keeney GD. 2009. High temperature effects on water loss and survival examining the hardiness of female adults of the spider beetles Mesium affine and Gibbium aequinoctiale. 8 pp. Journal of Insect Science 9: 68.
Internet References
Works Cited
1.Death-watch and spider beetles of Wisconsin—Coleoptera: Ptinidae
Arango, R.A. and D.K. Young. 2012. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-209. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory.
2.Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
3.Beetles associated with stored products in Canada: An identification guide
Bousquet Y. 1990. Research Branch Agriculture Canada, Publication 1837.
4.Coleoptera families other than Cerambycidae, Curculionidae sensu lato, Chrysomelidae sensu lato and Coccinelidae -- Chapter 8.5
Denux O., Zagatti P. 2010. BioRisk 4: 315–406.