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Species Tropicus pusillus

Short-antennaed beetle - Tropicus pusillus Tiny beetles - Tropicus pusillus Tiny beetles - Tropicus pusillus 2018-10-07 Autumn beetle - Tropicus pusillus 2154205314828 - Tropicus pusillus Tropicus pusillus Tropicus pusillus? - Tropicus pusillus Beetle - Tropicus pusillus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Elateriformia)
Superfamily Dryopoidea
Family Heteroceridae (Variegated Mud-loving Beetles)
Genus Tropicus
Species pusillus (Tropicus pusillus)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Heterocerus pusillus Say 1823, Heterocerus luteolus LeConte 1863, Heterocerus limbatus Kiesenwetter 1843
Explanation of Names
Tropicus pusillus (Say 1823)
pusillus 'tiny'
Size
2.3‒3.0 mm(1)
Identification
the elytra are orange laterally and share a faint medial brown stripe that covers about one-third of the surface; easily distinguished from other se.US heterocerids by color pattern(1)
Range
e NA to AZ (QC‒ON to Panama & Cuba)(1)(2)(BG data)
Habitat
along with Heterocerus mollinus, the only heterocerid in the se. US often collected from non-riverine environments (e.g. roadside ditches)(1)
Life Cycle
Despite its abundance, virtually nothing is known of its biology(1)
Remarks
one of the most common and widespread heterocerids in the Western Hemisphere, the most commonly collected heterocerid in e. US(1)
See Also
The orange-brown elytra and indistinct elytral markings make it easy to confuse H. selanderi with T. pusillus without the aid of a microscope. Elytral pattern is different, T. pusillus having one common macula and H. selanderi being trifasciate. H. selanderi primarily occurs in Florida. T. nigrellus (a rare sp., NC-FL-MS) is black, with no dorsal pattern.(1)
Works Cited
1.The variegated mud-loving beetles (Heteroceridae) of Mississippi and Alabama, with discussion and keys to se US spp.
King, J.G. and P.K. Lago. 2012. Insecta Mundi 0275: 1-53.
2.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.