Derodontidae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

s, in its own

superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...

, Derodontoidea, sometimes known as the tooth-necked fungus beetles. Beetles of this family are small, between 2 and 6 mm in length, typically with spiny margins on their pronotum (part of the thorax) that give them their name, though the genus ''Laricobius'' lacks these spines. Unusual among beetles, they have two

ocelli A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ...

on the top of their heads. They are related to the

Bostrichoidea Bostrichoidea is a superfamily of beetles. It is the type superfamily of the infraorder Bostrichiformia. Description The Bostrichoidea are united by the following features: modified cryptonephridism, the structure of the aedeagus in males, an ...

, which includes the

death watch beetle The deathwatch beetle (''Xestobium rufovillosum'') is a species of woodboring beetle that sometimes infests the structural timbers of old buildings. The adult beetle is brown and measures on average long. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old w ...

skin beetle Dermestidae are a family of Coleoptera that are commonly referred to as skin beetles. Other common names include larder beetle, hide or leather beetles, carpet beetles, and khapra beetles. There are over 1,100 species described. Dermestids have ...

powder-post beetle Powderpost beetles are a group of seventy species of woodboring beetles classified in the insect subfamily Lyctinae. These beetles, along with spider beetles, death watch beetles, common furniture beetles, skin beetles, and others, make up th ...

s and other subgroups. Some species feed on

slime mold Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to several kinds of unrelated eukaryotic organisms with a life cycle that includes a free-living single-celled stage and the formation of spores. Spores are often produced in macroscopic mul ...

s, but the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e and adults of the genus ''

Laricobius ''Laricobius'' is a genus of beetles in the family Derodontidae, the tooth-necked fungus beetles.

'' are predators of

woolly adelgid The hemlock woolly adelgid (; ''Adelges tsugae''), or HWA, is an insect of the order Hemiptera (true bugs) native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees (''Tsuga'' spp.; ''Picea'' spp.). In its native range, HWA ...

s which attack conifers, and species of this genus are used as biological control agents in the United States for control of

balsam woolly adelgid Balsam woolly adelgids (''Adelges piceae'') are small wingless insects that infest and kill firs, especially balsam fir and Fraser fir. They are an invasive species from Europe introduced to the United States around 1900. Because this species ...

and

hemlock woolly adelgid The hemlock woolly adelgid (; ''Adelges tsugae''), or HWA, is an insect of the order Hemiptera (true bugs) native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees (''Tsuga'' spp.; ''Picea'' spp.). In its native range, HWA ...

. There are 42 species in 4 genera and 3 subfamilies. The family includes: *Subfamily Derodontinae **Genus ''

Derodontus ''Derodontus'' is a genus of tooth-necked fungus beetles in the family Derodontidae Derodontidae is a family of beetles, in its own superfamily, Derodontoidea, sometimes known as the tooth-necked fungus beetles. Beetles of this family are sm ...

'' (11 species) *Subfamily Laricobiinae **Genus ''

Laricobius ''Laricobius'' is a genus of beetles in the family Derodontidae, the tooth-necked fungus beetles.

'' (23 species) **Genus '' Nothoderodontus'' (6 species) *Subfamily Peltasticinae **Genus ''

Peltastica ''Peltastica'' is a genus of tooth-necked fungus beetles in the family Derodontidae Derodontidae is a family of beetles, in its own superfamily, Derodontoidea, sometimes known as the tooth-necked fungus beetles. Beetles of this family are sm ...

'' (2 species) A fossil genus, '' Juropeltastica,'' is known from the Middle

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

( ~ 163 million years old) Daohugou Beds of China.

References

External links

Derodontidae
from th
Tree of Life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derodontidae Beetle families