''Ptinus sexpunctatus'' is a species of beetles in the genus '' Ptinus'' of the 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 ...

.Majka, C.G., Philips, T.K., and Sheffield, C. 2007. "''Ptinus sexpunctatus'' Panzer (Coleoptera: Anobiidae, Ptininae) recently recorded in North America", ''Entomological News'' 118 (1), 73-77. It is commonly known as the six-spotted spider beetle. Britishentomologyvolume2Plate646

Taxonomy

''P. sexpunctatus'' is one of eleven

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of Ptinid in the

subgenus In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...

''Gynopterus''. The subgenus was first described by Mulsant and Rey in 1868.

Description

The species is approximately 4–5 mm in length and is a uniform dark colouration. It has very prominent basal and apical patches of appressed white scale. The grooves on the

elytra An elytron (; ; , ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometimes alterna ...

are very deep.

Distribution and Habitat

Ptinus sexpunctatus is a

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 ...

spider beetle (Ptinidae: Ptininae) found throughout Europe. In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

it is categorised as 'Nationally Notable B' by the

National Biodiversity Network The National Biodiversity Network (UK) (NBN) is a collaborative venture set up in 2000 in the United Kingdom committed to making biodiversity information available through various media, including on the internet via the NBN Atlas—the data searc ...

and thus appears in between 31 and 100

hectad A hectad is an area 10 km x 10 km square. The term has a particular use in connection with the British Ordnance Survey national grid, and then refers to any of the 100 such squares which make up a standard 100 km x 100 km myr ...

s (10 km grid squares) across the country. In 2007 it was first recorded as an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

where it may have imported with introductions of ''

Osmia cornuta ''Osmia cornuta'', the European orchard bee, is a species of bee in the genus ''Osmia''. Description 10–15 mm. Males with conspicuously hairy faces. Females are unmistakable due to the black hair on the head and thorax, the rust-red ha ...

'' and ''

Osmia cornifrons ''Osmia cornifrons'', also known as the horned-face bee, are solitary bees indigenous to Northern Asia. Physically, this species of bee is recognized for its horn-like extensions originating from its lower face. Populations of ''O. cornifrons'' ...

''. The six-spotted spider beetle has been generally associated with pine forests, although more cosmopolitan sightings have occurred indoors. The larvae of ''P. sexpunctatus'' are commensals in the nests of cavity-nesting solitary bees in the genera

Osmia Mason bee is a name now commonly used for species of bees in the genus ''Osmia'', of the family Megachilidae. Mason bees are named for their habit of using mud or other "masonry" products in constructing their nests, which are made in naturally ...

and

Megachile The genus ''Megachile'' is a cosmopolitan group of solitary bees, often called leafcutter bees or leafcutting bees; it also includes the called resin bees and mortar bees. While other genera within the family Megachilidae may chew leaves or pet ...

. One example has been recorded, from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, in the nest of the Blue Orchid Mason Bee (

Osmia lignaria ''Osmia lignaria'', commonly known as the orchard mason bee or blue orchard bee, is a megachilid bee that makes nests in reeds and natural holes, creating individual cells for its brood that are separated by mud dividers. Unlike carpenter bees, ...

). Within the nest, the larvae feed on the food provisions of the host larva. The prevalence, or at least the recording, of ''P. sexpunctatus'' may be increasing due to the rise in the number of commercially available bee hotels used in domestic gardens.

References

External links

High resolution images of ''P. sexpunctatus'' morphology

''Ptinus sexpunctatus''
at

Encyclopedia of Life The ''Encyclopedia of Life'' (''EOL'') is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It is compiled from existing trusted databases curated by experts and with the assistance of non ...

Bibliography for ''Ptinus sexpunctatus'' Panzer, 1795
at

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sexpunctatus Beetles of Europe Beetles described in 1789 {{Bostrichoidea-stub