Aleochara asiatica Kraatz, 1859 male (7147588411)

''Aleochara'' is a genus in the beetle family

Staphylinidae The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With roughly 63,000 species in thousands of genera, the ...

, the Rove beetles; larvae of Staphylinidae occur in many assorted ecological roles, most being scavengers, predators or carrion feeders, but the larvae of at least those species of ''Aleochara'' whose life histories are known, are

parasitoid In evolutionary ecology, a parasitoid is an organism that lives in close association with its host (biology), host at the host's expense, eventually resulting in the death of the host. Parasitoidism is one of six major evolutionarily stable str ...

s; they feed in the puparia of suitable species of flies, killing the host in the process. Adult ''Aleochara'' are predators. ''Aleochara'' are found worldwide except in Antarctica. There are at least 150 and possibly more than 400 species in 16 subgenera. The adults of many species can be found near dung or carrion, commonly feeding on the eggs, larvae, and puparia of various scatophagous and necrophagous

Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced ...

. The most extensively studied aleocharine rove beetle is '' Aleochara bilineata'' Gyllenhal, which is a significant biological control agent against some fly pests (notably ''

Delia Delia is a feminine given name, either taken from an epithet of the Greek moon goddess Artemis, or else representing a short form of '' Adelia'', '' Bedelia'', ''Cordelia'' or '' Odelia''. Meanings and origins According to records for the 1901 ...

'' spp. in the family Anthomyiidae) of agricultural crops in the mustard and cabbage family Brassicaceae, such as

cabbage Cabbage, comprising several cultivars of ''Brassica oleracea'', is a leafy green, red (purple), or white (pale green) biennial plant grown as an annual vegetable crop for its dense-leaved heads. It is descended from the wild cabbage ( ''B.&nb ...

, rutabaga, canola, and many others. Among the species of this genus, '' Aleochara bilineata'' is very well studied, and '' Aleochara wrightii'' was named after Jane Wright, the

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

who discovered it

Subgenera

The genus Aleochara contains at least 150 and possibly more than 400 species, distributed into 16 subgenera. Below is a list of subgenera: * Heterochara *

Aleochara ''Aleochara'' is a genus in the beetle family Staphylinidae, the Rove beetles; larvae of Staphylinidae occur in many assorted ecological roles, most being scavengers, predators or carrion feeders, but the larvae of at least those species of '' ...

* Aidochara * Euryodma * Ceranota * Emplenota * Triochara * Maseochara * Echochara * Calochara * Mesochara * Xenochara * Rheochara * Polystomota * Coprochara * Megalogastria

References

Other sources

*Klimaszewski, J. 1984. A revision of the genus ''Aleochara'' Gravenhorst in America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae). ''Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada'' 129: 1–211. *Maus, C., B. Mittman, K. Peschke. 1998. Host records of parasitoid ''Aleochara'' Gravenhorst species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) attacking puparia of cyclorrhapheous Diptera. ''Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift'' 45: 231–254. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1941985 Aleocharinae genera Beetles of Europe Beetles of North America Taxa named by Johann Ludwig Christian Gravenhorst

Subgenera

See also

References

Other sources