Family Melyridae - Soft-winged Flower Beetles

Includes Malachiinae and Dasytinae(1), often treated as separate families, esp. by European workers; Rhadalinae(2), formerly treated here, has been upgraded to family status(3)

Melyridae Leach 1815

by far the largest cleroid family(3); 3 subfamilies, with >500 spp. in ~50 genera in our area (tallied from many sources) and ~6000 spp. in 300 genera total(4)

Overview of our faunaTaxa not yet in the guide are marked (*)

Family MELYRIDAE

Subfamily Malachiinae

Subtribe Apalochrina CollopsSubtribe Attalina Attalus · Endeodes · Tanaops · TrophimusSubtribe Colotina TemnopsophusSubtribe Ebaeina Anthocomus · *Charopus · *Ebaeus · HypebaeusSubtribe Ilopina Condylops · NodopusSubtribe Malachiina Axinotarsus · Malachius · MicrolipusSubtribe Troglopina Attalusinus · *TroglopsIncertae sedis Ablechrus

Subfamily Melyrinae Melyrodes · *Melyris

Subfamily Dasytinae

2-7 mm

Adult: body may have a soft appearance from the numerous erect hairs; front coxae prominent; antennae insert in front of the head above the mandibles; many species have a fleshy lobe between the tarsal claws, and some have orange eversible sacs along the sides of the abdomen that are sometimes visible [adapted from(6)]

worldwide and over most of the US and so. Canada (2 spp. reach NT; none in YT-AK)(1)(7)

adults common on flowers; larvae in various habitats, most commonly in soil, leaf litter, or under bark

chiefly insects but food preferences vary; adults evidently feed on flower-visiting insects and pollen, larvae are primarily predators of other insects