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

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
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

BugGuide is a National Moth Week Partner. How to add your National Moth Week 2021 photos. July 17-25.

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

National Moth Week 2020 photos of insects and people.

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

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

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12

Photos of insects and people from the 2014 gathering in Virginia, June 4-7.

Photos of insects and people from the 2013 gathering in Arizona, July 25-28

Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles (Polyphaga) » Carpet, Powder-post and Death-watch Beetles (Bostrichoidea) » Death-watch and Spider Beetles (Ptinidae) » Spider Beetles (Ptininae)

Subfamily Ptininae - Spider Beetles

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Food · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Beetle 2011.07.18.6449 - Ptinus Spider Beetle - Ptinus raptor 251014 ~4 mm Beetle - Ptinus raptor Ptinus? - Ptinus fur Ptinus ? - Ptinus raptor - female Ptinus ? - Ptinus villiger Coleoptera - Ptinus Interesting beetle - Ptinus raptor
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga (Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf and Snout Beetles)
Superfamily Bostrichoidea (Carpet, Powder-post and Death-watch Beetles)
Family Ptinidae (Death-watch and Spider Beetles)
Subfamily Ptininae (Spider Beetles)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
many workers treat Gibbium and Mezium in a separate subfamily, Gibbiinae(1)
Explanation of Names
Ptininae Latreille 1802
Numbers
~70 spp. in 12 genera in our area(2)(3), 15 in Canada(4) (ca. 600 spp. worldwide)
Size
1.5–4.5 mm(5)
Identification
Body constricted between prothorax and elytra, pronotum often with humps, elytra often with shoulders reduced (flightless species). Head not retracted below pronotum, antennae free, filiform, their bases proximate.
illustrated keys & info on species that occur indoors in(4)(3)
Range
worldwide and across NA; many spp. associated with stored products easily spread with commerce and have cosmopolitan distribution
Habitat
mammal/bird/bee nests, dry carrion, tree holes; several species occur in homes, granaries, mills, warehouses(4)
Food
Dry plant and animal matter (a few are wood-borers as larvae)
See Also
Print References
Arango, R.A. and D.K. Young. 2012. Death-watch and spider beetles of Wisconsin—Coleoptera: Ptinidae. General Technical Report FPL-GTR-209. Madison, WI: USDA, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. (6)
Philips T.K. (2000) Phylogenetic analysis of the New World Ptininae (Coleoptera: Bostrichoidea). Systematic Entomology 25: 235-262.
Internet References
(7)
Works Cited
1.de Jong Y.S.D.M. et al. (2014) Fauna Europaea - all European animal species on the web. Biodiversity Data Journal 2: e4034.
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.An illustrated and descriptive catalogue of the Ptinidae of North Amerika.
Papp, C.S. 1962. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift, 9(5): 367-423.
4.Beetles associated with stored products in Canada: An identification guide
Bousquet Y. 1990. Research Branch Agriculture Canada, Publication 1837.
5.Handbook of urban insects and arachnids: A handbook of urban entomology
Robinson W.H. 2005. Cambridge University Press.
6.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.
7.Eifler M. www.ptinidae.de
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 15 January, 2005 - 1:30am
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, Boris Bueche, v belov
Last updated 13 October, 2019 - 7:55am

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 © 2003-2022 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact