Alphitobius Laevigatus on:
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''Alphitobius laevigatus'', the black fungus beetle, is a species of 
darkling beetle
Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae. The number of species in the Tenebrionidae is estimated at more than 20,000 and the family is cosmopolitan in distribution.
Taxonomy
''Tenebrio'' is the Latin gen ...
in the family Tenebrionidae
Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae. The number of species in the Tenebrionidae is estimated at more than 20,000 and the family is cosmopolitan in distribution.
Taxonomy
''Tenebrio'' is the Latin gen ...
. It is found in Europe and North America.
Use
A. laevigatus is bred in large quantities for the use as feed for captive birds, reptiles, or amphibians. The larvae reach a length of up to 15 millimeters. The larvae are often marketed under the trade name ''buffalo worms'', a name that is also used for the larvae ofAlphitobius diaperinus
''Alphitobius diaperinus'' is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. It is known commonly as the lesser mealworm and the litter beetle. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring nearly worldwide. It is known wi ...
which can lead to confusion.Aline Marien, Hamza Sedefoglu, Frédéric Debode et al. (9 March 2022): ''Detection of Alphitobius diaperinus by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction With a Single-Copy Gene Target''. In: Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 2022; 9: 718806. doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.718806. The species can be detected using the PCR method. In difference to A. diaperinus, A. laevigatus is not used or discussed as food for human consumption.
References
Further reading
*External links
* Tenebrioninae Articles created by Qbugbot Beetles described in 1781 Insects as feed {{tenebrionidae-stub