Tenebrioninae is the largest

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

of the

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 ...

s (Tenebrionidae), containing

flour beetle Flour beetles are members of the darkling beetle genus, genera ''Tribolium (beetle), Tribolium'' or ''Tenebrio''. They are pests of cereal silos and are widely used as laboratory animals, as they are easy to keep. The flour beetles consume wheat ...

s, among others. Tenebrioninae contains more than 20 tribes.

Description

Adults

Adults are robust, mid-sized

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 that typically have

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 ...

with some sort of corrugation on the upper side. They are typically black, dark brown or grey, and often have a

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

y sheen. The body is shaped like a medication capsule or like a

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

; the legs can be short and stout or long and spindly. They eat both fresh and decaying vegetation, including

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

produce, and several are commercially important pests of

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

and other

cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...

products. The subfamily has been characterized as adults having mandibles with the back opposite the cutting edge, without margination and excavated opposite the molar pait; having

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 ...

arranged in two transverse, crescent shaped or circular groups on each side of head, and with five more or less fused lenses; having antennae with basal articles noticeably longer than wide; having

pygidium The pygidium (plural pygidia) is the posterior body part or shield of crustaceans and some other arthropods, such as insects and the extinct trilobites. In groups other than insects, it contains the anus and, in females, the ovipositor. It is compo ...

that is apically bicomute; and having abdominal spiracles that are oval and transverse, among other characteristics.

Larvae

Larvae of the tenebrioninae subfamily take after most other tenebrionid larvae: usually cylindrical to slightly flattened, occasionally short and broad, or strongly flattened. The head and all visible

tergites A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The anterior edge is called the 'base' and posterior edge is called the 'apex' or 'mar ...

or only the head and abdominal apex are heavily sclerotized. Diagnostic characters for larvae include the presence of a frontoclypeal suture, flat and dome-like antennal sensorium, simple malar apex which is not cleft, simple ninth sternum, annular or annular- multiforous spiracles, and the absence of an endocarina, mandibular prostheca, hypostomal rods, ventral prolegs, and patches or rows of tergal asperites.

Notable species

Larvae of the yellow mealworm beetle (''Tenebrio molitor'') are commonly used as feeder insects for

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s and

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s. Other ''

Tenebrio ''Tenebrio'' is a genus of darkling beetles. Adults are long and can live for 1–2 years. The larvae are minor pests, but they are also widely reared and sold as pet food. Species The genus contains the following extant species: * ''Tenebrio ...

'' and '' Tribolium'' species are also bred as animal food. The

red flour beetle The red flour beetle (''Tribolium castaneum'') is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. It is a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and a model organism for ethological and food safety r ...

(''Tribolium castaneum'') is a popular

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...

model organism A model organism (often shortened to model) is a non-human species that is extensively studied to understand particular biological phenomena, with the expectation that discoveries made in the model organism will provide insight into the workin ...

, especially in studies of

intragenomic conflict Intragenomic conflict refers to the evolutionary phenomenon where genes have phenotypic effects that promote their own transmission in detriment of the transmission of other genes that reside in the same genome. The selfish gene theory postulates ...

and

population ecology Population ecology is a sub-field of ecology that deals with the dynamics of species populations and how these populations interact with the environment, such as birth and death rates, and by immigration and emigration. The discipline is importa ...

. Several species of ''Tenebrio'' and ''Tribolium'', such as the

confused flour beetle The confused flour beetle (''Tribolium confusum''), a type of darkling beetle known as a flour beetle, is a common pest insect known for attacking and infesting stored flour and grain. They are one of the most common and most destructive insect ...

(''T. confusum'') and '' T. destructor'', and other genera such as '' Gnathocerus cornutus'', are pests of cereal and flour silos and other storage facilities.

Systematics

Mimopeus parvus specimens from the Auckland Museum

The Tenebrioninae are traditionally divided in some 20-30

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

s. The exact delimitation and validity of several of these is unclear.

Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies have yielded inconsistent results, perhaps due to

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

ization,

horizontal gene transfer Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between Unicellular organism, unicellular and/or multicellular organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offsprin ...

by ''

Wolbachia ''Wolbachia'' is a genus of intracellular bacteria that infects mainly arthropod species, including a high proportion of insects, and also some nematodes. It is one of the most common parasitic microbes, and is possibly the most common reproduct ...

'' bacteria, and insufficient

taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...

sampling obfuscating the information contained in

DNA sequence DNA sequencing is the process of determining the nucleic acid sequence – the order of nucleotides in DNA. It includes any method or technology that is used to determine the order of the four bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Th ...

data.Angelini, D. R. & E. L. Jockusch. (2008). Relationships among pest flour beetles of the genus ''Tribolium'' (Tenebrionidae) inferred from multiple molecular markers. ''

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution ''Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal of evolutionary biology and phylogenetics. The journal is edited by E.A. Zimmer. Indexing The journal is indexed in: *EMBiology *Journal Citation Reports *Scopus ...

'' 46(1) 127-41. (HTML abstract) In some treatments, the Pimeliinae are included as yet another tribe. This may be correct, but as far as can be told they are a closely related but well distinct lineage of

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 ...

. The Opatrini are sometimes elevated to familial rank as Opatrinae. The Crypticini, Pentaphyllini, and Scaphidemini are sometimes placed here, but are more commonly located in the

Diaperinae Diaperinae is a subfamily of darkling beetles 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 f ...

. In research by Kamiński et al. published in 2021, the following tribes were moved from Tenebrioninae into the newly resurrected subfamily

Blaptinae Blaptinae is a subfamily of darkling beetles 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 fa ...

. These tribes contained 281 genera and about 4000 species, about 50% of Tenebrioninae. The new classification was followed by Bouchard et al. the same year. * Amphidorini LeConte, 1862 * Blaptini Leach, 1815 * Dendarini Mulsant & Rey, 1854 * Opatrini Brullé, 1832 *

Pedinini Pedinini is a tribe of darkling beetles in the family Tenebrionidae. There are about 19 genera in Pedinini. In research by Kamiński et al. published in 2021, Pedinini and six other tribes were moved from Tenebrioninae into the newly resurrected ...

Eschscholtz, 1829 * Platynotini Mulsant & Rey, 1853 * Platyscelidini Lacordaire, 1859 The resulting Tenebrioninae, according to "Review of genus-group names in the family Tenebrionidae" (Bouchard et al. 2021), includes the following tribes: * Acropteronini Doyen, 1989 * Alphitobiini Reitter, 1917 * Amarygmini Gistel, 1848 * Apocryphini Lacordaire, 1859 * Bolitophagini W. Kirby, 1837 * Centronopini Doyen, 1989 * Cerenopini Horn, 1870 * Dissonomini G.S. Medvedev, 1968 * Eulabini Horn, 1870 * Falsocossyphini Ferrer, 2006 * Heleini Fleming, 1821 *

Helopini Helopini is a tribe of darkling beetles in the family Tenebrionidae. There are at least 50 genera in Helopini. Genera These genera belong to the tribe Helopini: * '' Accanthopus'' Dejean, 1821 (the Palearctic) * '' Adelphinus'' Fairmaire & ...

Latreille, 1802 * Melanimonini Seidlitz, 1894 (1854) * Metaclisini Steiner, 2016 * Palorini Matthews, 2003 * Paoligenini Ferrer, 2013 * Praeugenini De Moor, 1970 * Rhysopaussini Wasmann, 1896 * Scaurini Billberg, 1820 * Scotobiini Solier, 1838 * Tenebrionini Latreille, 1802 * Titaenini Fauvel, 1905 * Toxicini Oken, 1843 * Trachelostenini Lacordaire, 1859 * Triboliini Gistel, 1848 * Ulomini Blanchard, 1845 In addition, the following genera are of uncertain placement in this subfamily: * Anophthalmolamus Ferrer, 1993 * Hangaya Matthews & Merkl, 2015 * Penichrus Champion, 1885

References

* * {{Taxonbar, from1=Q914904 Beetle subfamilies Articles containing video clips