ENY 3005 Family Identification

Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae

 Common name: darkling beetles

Identifying characteristics for the family Tenebrionidae include:

• First abdominal sternite entire, not divided by hind coxae (suborder Polyphaga).
• Eyes notched by a frontal ridge.
• Antennae usually 11 segmented and filiform, moniliform, or weakly clubbed.
• Tarsi 5-5-4; claws simple.
• Body form variable, ranging from elongate to oval and smooth to very rough.

• Tenebrionidae is the fifth largest family of beetles with some 180 genera and 1300 species occurring in North America. There are about 15,000 species worldwide.
• Although many tenebrionids are similar to carabids in appearance, they are readily distinguished by the 4-segmented hind tarsus, notched eyes, and the first abdominal sternite being entire.
• Adults and larvae are scavengers. Mealworms, a major pest of stored grain, belong to this family.

References:

• Pages 186-187 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
• Pages 249-255 and plate 7 in R. E. White. 1983. A Field Guide to Beetles of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 368 p.
• Page 446 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989. An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders College Publishing. 875 p.
• Page 478 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
• Page 218 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects, 3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.