Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Giving Tuesday

Do you use BugGuide? Please consider a monetary gift on this Giving Tuesday.

Donate Now

Your donation to BugGuide is tax-deductible.



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
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Scarabaeoidea » Hide Beetles (Trogidae)

Family Trogidae - Hide Beetles

Classification · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Remarks · Works Cited
Hide Beetle - Trox Trogid - Trox plicatus Trox spinulosus Robinson - Glyptotrox spinulosus Maybe Trox? - Trox variolatus Hastate Hide Beetle? - Omorgus punctatus Omorgus ? - Omorgus suberosus Trox atrox RACA-00102 - Omorgus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
Superfamily Scarabaeoidea
Family Trogidae (Hide Beetles)
Other Common Names
Skin Beetles
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
used to be treated as a subfamily of Scarabaeidae, and Omorgus as a subgenus of Trox; now the two genera are treated in different subfamilies(1)
Explanation of Names
Trogidae MacLeay 1819
Numbers
~40 spp. in our area(2), ~350 spp. in 9 genera worldwide(3)
Size
4‒19 mm (NA spp.)(4), some Australian spp. up to 31 mm(4)
Identification
Trox 3‒12 mm, rounded scutellum • Omorgus 9‒20 mm, hastate scutellum

For identification, see (4)(5)(6)(7)(8) • larvae treated in (9)
Range
worldwide, rather evenly distributed between continents(10)
Habitat
on carrion at late stages of decomposition, on owl pellets, in bird & mammal nests, on carnivore scat containing hair/bones; more common in drier regions(8)
Season
year round, at least in the south
Food
skin, bone, hair, feathers; Trogidae are among the last scavengers to visit dry animal remains(8)
Remarks
many spp. come to lights(8)
Works Cited
1.Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)
Bouchard P, Bousquet Y, Davies A, Alonso-Zarazaga M, Lawrence JF, Lyal CH, Newton A, Reid CA, Schmitt M, Ślipiński SA, Smith A. 2011. ZooKeys 88: 1–972.
2.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.
3.Catalogue of Life
4.A revision of the genus Trox in North America (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)
Vaurie P. 1955. Bull. AMNH 106: 1‒89.
5.Two new species of Trox from Florida (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)
Vaurie P., Howden H.F. 1957. Am. Mus. novitates 1818: 1‒6.
6.The Beetles of Northeastern North America, Vol. 1 and 2.
Downie, N.M., and R.H. Arnett. 1996. The Sandhill Crane Press, Gainesville, FL.
7.Scarab beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) of South Carolina
Phillip J. Harpootlian. 2001. Clemson University Public Service.
8.The Scarabaeoid Beetles of Nebraska
Brett C. Ratcliffe & M.J. Paulsen. 2008. University of Nebraska State Museum, Vol 22, 570 pp.
9.Larval taxonomy of the Troginae in North America with notes on biologies and life histories (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)
Baker C.W. 1968. Bull. US Nat. Mus. 279: 1–79.
10.Checklist and bibliography of the Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea)
Zidek J. 2013. Insecta Mundi 0314: 1‒38.
Contributed by Cotinis on 14 August, 2004 - 7:51am
Additional contributions by Stephen_WV, Phillip Harpootlian, Mike Quinn, v belov
Last updated 18 March, 2024 - 6:16pm

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

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact