Tooth-necked fungus beetle
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Derodontus |
The tooth-necked fungus beetles are a small family (Derodontidae) of beetles, the only family in the superfamily Derondontoidea. There are about 10 species in 4 genera. Beetles of this family are small, between 2 and 6 mm in length, with spiny margins on their pronotum (part of the thorax) that give them their name. The genus, Laricobius, lacks these spines. They have two photoreceptors (ocelli) on the top of their heads.
They are related to the Bostrichoidea, which includes the death watch beetles, skin beetles, powder-post beetles and other subgroups.
Some species feed on slime molds, but the larvae and adults of the genus Laricobius are predators of woolly adeligids which attack conifers, and species of this genus are used as biological control agents in the United States for control of balsam woolly adegid and hemlock woolly adelgid.
[edit] External links
- Derodontidae from the Tree of Life
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