''Ptinomorphus imperialis '' is a species of

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 ...

in family

Ptinidae Ptinidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Bostrichoidea. There are at least 220 genera and 2,200 described species in Ptinidae worldwide. The family includes spider beetles and deathwatch beetles. The Ptinidae family species are hard ...

. It is found in the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sibe ...

Joy, N 1932

A Practical Handbook of British Beetles ''A Practical Handbook of British Beetles'' is a two-volume work on the British beetle fauna, by Norman H. Joy, first published by H. F. & G. Witherby in January 1932. Contents Volume one (xxviii + 622 pages) consists of the text (largely a ...

It is common in Europe in the north to Denmark and the south of Norway and Finland. In England and Ireland it is only to be found locally. ''P. imperialis'' is found in old deciduous forest where the larvae feed on dead wood. The larvae of the develop between the bark and the wood of molded damp wood from various deciduous woods such as hornbeam (''

Carpinus betulus ''Carpinus betulus'', the European or common hornbeam, is a species of tree in the birch family Betulaceae, native to Western Asia and central, eastern, and southern Europe, including southern England. It requires a warm climate for good growth, ...

''), hazel ('' Corylus''), elm (''

Ulmus Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...

'') and linden (''

Tilia ''Tilia'' is a genus of about 30 species of trees or bushes, native throughout most of the temperateness, temperate Northern Hemisphere. The tree is known as linden for the European species, and basswood for North American species. In Britain a ...

''). The adult beetles feed on pollen and nectar of flowering shrubs, such as for example ''

Prunus spinosa ''Prunus spinosa'', called blackthorn or sloe, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae. The species is native to Europe, western Asia, and regionally in northwest Africa. It is locally naturalized in New Zealand, Tasmania, ...

'' or ''

Crataegus ''Crataegus'' (), commonly called hawthorn, quickthorn, thornapple, Voss, E. G. 1985. ''Michigan Flora: A guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the state. Part II: Dicots (Saururaceae–Cornacea ...

''. Ptinomorphus imperialis up.jpg Ptinomorphus imperialis under.jpg Ptinomorphus imperialis side.jpg Ptinomorphus imperialis front.jpg

References

Ptinidae Beetles described in 1767 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Bostrichoidea-stub