Cleroidea is a small superfamily 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 ...

s containing over 10,000 species. Most of the members of the group are somewhat slender, often with fairly soft, flexible

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 ...

, and typically hairy or scaly.

Description

Cleroidea is defined by the following features: adult and larva with

mandibular In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower tooth, teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movabl ...

mola absent, larva with basal mandibular process (lacinia mobilis) present), and mala with a pedunculate

seta In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for " bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. ...

present. Some cleroids, especially in Cleridae and the melyrid subfamily Malachiinae, have bright

aposematic Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste o ...

colouration to deter predators. They mimic the appearances of other arthropods that are unpalatable to predators, such as various beetles ( blister beetles, leaf beetles, net-winged beetles), stinging Hymenoptera (

ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...

and velvet ants), zygaenid moths and

tachinid flies The Tachinidae are a large and variable family of true flies within the insect order Diptera, with more than 8,200 known species and many more to be discovered. Over 1,300 species have been described in North America alone. Insects in this family ...

. There is variation in the degree of sclerotisation within Cleroidea. Some are hard-bodied beetles with fully sclerotised

that match the shape of the abdomen ( Trogossitidae, Lophocateridae, Peltidae). The melyrid lineage (a group including

Melyridae Melyridae (common name: soft-winged flower beetles) are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. Description Most are elongate-oval, soft-bodied beetles 10 mm long or less. Many are brightly patterned in black and brown, yellow, ...

and other families) and the two small families Phloiophilidae and Acanthocnemidae are highly soft-bodied. The Cleridae are intermediately soft-bodied.

Biology

Cleroids can be divided into three main groups based on what they feed on: * Cleridae and most Trogossitinae (Trogossitidae) are

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

and their adults are usually diurnal. * The melyrid lineage are pollen- or nectar-feeders, and also have diurnal adults. * Much of the remaining Trogossitidae and many smaller families are

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...

-feeders. Their adults are more cryptic and/or nocturnal than the previous two groups, occurring under bark, in rotting wood or in fruiting bodies of fungi. Other lifestyles also occur in the superfamily. Phycosecidae

scavenge Scavengers are animals that consume dead organisms that have died from causes other than predation or have been killed by other predators. While scavenging generally refers to carnivores feeding on carrion, it is also a herbivorous feeding b ...

dead animals on bare seashore, while ''Acanthocnemus nigricans'' (the sole species of Acanthocnemidae) is attracted to recently burnt

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

Taxonomy

Families included are: * Acanthocnemidae Crowson, 1964 * Biphyllidae LeConte, 1861 * † Boleopsidae Kirejtshuk & Nel, 2013 *

Byturidae Byturidae, also known as Fruitworms, is a very small family of beetles, in the suborder Polyphaga, comprising fewer than 20 species worldwide.C.A. Springer & M.A. Goodrich (1994) A Revision of the Subfamily Platydascillinae (Coleoptera: Byturidae ...

Gistel, 1848 * Chaetosomatidae Crowson, 1952 (incl. Metaxinidae) * Cleridae Latreille, 1802 ( checkered beetles) * Lophocateridae Crowson, 1964 * Mauroniscidae Majer, 1995 *

Leach, 1815 ( soft-winged flower beetles) (including the former Attalomimidae,

Malachiidae Malachiinae is a subfamily of beetles of the family Melyridae and having a global distribution. Description Malachiinae have peculiar orange structures along the sides of the abdomen, which may be everted and saclike or withdrawn into the body ...

and Dasytidae) * Peltidae Latreille, 1806 * Phloiophilidae Kiesenwetter, 1863 * Phycosecidae Crowson, 1952 * Prionoceridae Lacordaire, 1857 * Protopeltidae Crowson, 1966 * Rentoniidae Crowson, 1966 * Rhadalidae LeConte, 1861 (incl. Gietellidae) * Thanerocleridae Chapin, 1924 * Thymalidae Léveillé, 1888 * Trogossitidae Latreille, 1802 ( bark-gnawing beetles) The melyrid lineage consists of Phycosecidae, Rhadalidae, Mauroniscidae, Prionoceridae and Melyridae. Most species belong to the families Cleridae and Melyridae, followed by Trogossitidae.

Extinct genera

* '' Juraniscus'' Kolibáč and Huang, 2019 - found in Daohugou, China in Middle Jurassic deposit, considered part of the melyrid lineage

References

External links

Cleroidea
from th
Tree of Life

Diagnostic photos and information. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleroidea Beetle superfamilies