Laemophloeidae, "lined flat bark
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," is a family in the superfamily
Cucujoidea
Cucujoidea is a superfamily of beetles. This group formerly included all of the families now included in the superfamily Coccinelloidea. They include some fungus beetles and a diversity of lineages of "bark beetles" unrelated to the "true" bark ...
characterized by predominantly dorso-ventrally compressed bodies, head and pronotal discs bordered by ridges or grooves, and inverted male genitalia. Size range of adults is in length. Currently, it contains 40 genera and about 450 species, and is represented on all continents except Antarctica; species richness is greatest in the tropics.
Classicification
Historically, Laemophloeidae was treated as a subfamily of Cucujidae, but starting in the middle of the 20th century, most of what had been treated as subfamilies of the Cucujidae were considered to be families.
Habitat and behaviour
Most laemophloeids, adults and larvae, are found under bark of dead trees, where they apparently are primarily fungivores, although some genera with adults having subcylindrical bodies (e.g., ''
Leptophloeus'', ''
Dysmerus'') occur in the galleries of
bark beetles (
Curculionidae
The Curculionidae are a family of weevils, commonly called snout beetles or true weevils. They are one of the largest animal families, with 6,800 genera and 83,000 species described worldwide. They are the sister group to the family Brentidae.
...
: Scolytinae), upon which they may feed. A few genera, but most particularly ''
Cryptolestes'', contain some species that are pests of stored grain products. The most important of these are ''
Cryptolestes ferrugineus'' (Stephens), ''
Cryptolestes pusillus'' (Schönherr), and ''
Cryptolestes turcicus'' (Grouvelle).
Characteristics
Several genera exhibit unusual modifications to male antennae (especially ''Cryptolestes'', ''Dysmerus'', and ''
Microbrontes''), with the scape expanded into hook-like or blade-like structures. Several other genera (''
Rhinomalus'', ''
Rhinophloeus'', and ''
Metaxyphloeus'') related to ''
Laemophloeus'' are atypical in that the adults are rostrate to varying degrees. Photographs of most world genera are available at, and most North American species are pictured at:
Leaping larvae
According to an article published by ''PLOS ONE'', a discovery has been made regarding the larvae of laemophloeidae. Studies show that when the larvae is in the open, the larvae will straighten themselves out and jump curling up into a ball in the process. It has also been discovered that the larvae can bounce when they are curled up.
Gallery
File:Odontophloeus sp Brazil habitusMontage.jpg, '' Odontophloeus'' sp.
File:Phloeolaemus hoplitesMontage.jpg, '' Phloeolaemus hoplites''.
File:Dysmerus symphilus male dorsalMontage.jpg, '' Dysmerus symphilus''.
File:Metaxyphloeus germaini dorsal2Montage.jpg, '' Metaxyphloeus germaini''.
File:Lepidophloeus habitusMontage.jpg, '' Lepidophloeus exquisitus''.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1040629
Cucujoidea families