Soldier beetle

Soldier beetles
Chauliognathus lugubris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Superfamily:	Elateroidea
Family:	Cantharidae Imhoff, 1856
Genera
Many, see text
Synonyms
Chauliognathidae

The soldier beetles (Cantharidae) are relatively soft-bodied, straight-sided beetles, related to the Lampyridae or firefly family, but unable to produce light. They are cosmopolitan in distribution. One of the first described species has a color pattern reminiscent of the red coats of early British soldiers, hence the common name. They are also known commonly as leatherwings because of their soft elytra.^[1]

Historically, these beetles were placed in a superfamily "Cantharoidea", which has been subsumed by the superfamily Elateroidea; the name is still sometimes used as a rankless grouping, including the families Cantharidae, Drilidae, Lampyridae, Lycidae, Omalisidae, Omethidae, Phengodidae (which includes Telegeusidae), and Rhagophthalmidae.

Selected genera

Soldier beetle filmed in Hesse, Germany

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cantharidae.

Wikispecies has information related to: Cantharidae

• Delta key
• Key to the British genera of Cantharidae
• Key to the British species of genus Cantharis