The telephone-pole beetle is a beetle native to the eastern United States and the only known living representative of the otherwise extinct family Micromalthidae. Larvae of the beetle live in decaying wood and can be pests to wooden structures, lending them their common name, the 'telephone-pole beetle.'
Eucinetidae is a family of beetles, notable for their large coxal plates that cover much of the first ventrite of the abdomen, sometimes called plate-thigh beetles. The family is small for beetles, with about 50 species in 11 genera, but are found worldwide.
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 beetles (Scolytinae), which are weevils.
Ripiphoridae is a cosmopolitan family of some 450 described species of beetles sometimes called "wedge-shaped beetles". Ripiphoridae are unusual among beetle families in that many species are hypermetamorphic parasitoids, an attribute that they share with the Meloidae. Members of the family differ in their choice of hosts, but most attack various species of bees or wasps, while some others attack cockroaches or beetles. Many species of Ripiphoridae have abbreviated elytra, and flabellate or pectinate antennae.
The term mycangium is used in biology for special structures on the body of an animal that are adapted for the transport of symbiotic fungi. This is seen in many xylophagous insects, which apparently derive much of their nutrition from the digestion of various fungi that are growing amidst the wood fibers. In some cases, as in ambrosia beetles, the fungi are the sole food, and the excavations in the wood are simply to make a suitable microenvironment for the fungus to grow. In other cases, wood tissue is the main food, and fungi weaken the defense response from the host plant.
Corylophidae is a family of minute hooded beetles, sometimes called minute fungus beetles, in the superfamily Coccinelloidea. There are about 18 genera and at least 120 described species in Corylophidae. They feed on microfungi such as molds, and are often found associated with bark, as well as in leaf litter and other decaying vegetation. In older literature, the family name was often given as Orthoperidae.
Bothrideridae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Coccinelloidea. They are known commonly as the cocoon-forming beetles or dry bark beetles. They occur worldwide with most native to the Old World tropics. In older literature, the family was often included in the family Colydiidae, but is now considered unrelated.
Phloeostichidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea. They are typically found under the bark of dead trees. Larvae have been found to consume plant tissue and some fungi, while the adults appear to be exclusively fungivores. The family contains four extant genera, Phloeostichus is native to the Palearctic, Rhopalobrachium is native to central-southern South America and eastern Australia, Hymaea is native to southeastern Australia, and Bunyastichus is found in Tasmania.
Smicripidae is a family of beetles, in the superfamily Cucujoidea. The common name for this family is palmetto beetles. The family only has one extant genus, Smicrips, with six extant species native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas and extinct species from the Eocene of Europe and one extinct genus, Mesosmicrips, known from the mid Cretaceous aged Burmese amber. Smicrips larvae are usually found amongst decaying vegetation, while adults are typically found on inflorescences, especially those of Arecaceae (palms), although associations with flowers of Fabaceae (legumes), Passifloraceae, Bombacaceae and Cactaceae (cactus) have also been recorded. Their diet is unknown.
Melandryidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. Members of the family are found worldwide, with around 420 species in 60 genera. Larvae and adults are generally associated with rotting wood and wood-decomposing fungi.
Monotomidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Cucujoidea. The family is found worldwide, with approximately 240 species in 33 genera. The ecological habits of the family are diverse, with different members of the group being found under tree bark, in decaying vegetation, on flowers and in ant nests. Their ecology is obscure, while at least some species are mycophagous, feeding on the fruiting bodies of ascomycete fungi, Rhyzophagus are predators on bark beetles and possibly Phoridae larvae, with the larvae of some species also being mycophagous.
Passandridae, the "parasitic flat bark beetles," are a family of beetles notable for being one of the very few beetle families with larvae that are, as far as known, exclusively ectoparasitic on the immature stages of other beetles and Hymenoptera.
Atractocerus is a genus of beetles in the family Lymexylidae. The most recent revision of the family treats several small or monotypic genera as synonyms of Atractocerus, though some authors continue to use the older generic names (e.g.).
Eucnemidae, or false click beetles, are a family of elateroid beetles including about 1700 species distributed worldwide.
Elateroides dermestoides is a species of ship-timber beetles native to Europe.
Anamorphidae is a family of beetles in the superfamily Coccinelloidea, formerly included within the family Endomychidae. They are found worldwide. Like enchomyids, they are fungivores, with adult and larval stages thought to exclusively consume fungal spores.
Ptilodactylidae is a family of beetles belonging to the Elateriformia. There around 500 extant species in 35 genera. They are generally associated with riparian and aquatic habitats. The larvae generally live associated with rotting wood or vegetation, or within gravel and detritus on the edge of water bodies. The larvae of some species feed on submerged rotting wood or on plant roots, while the adults of some species are known to feed on fungus with modified brush-like maxillae.
Artematopodidae is a family of soft-bodied plant beetles in the superfamily Elateroidea. They are mostly found in understory forest foliage. The life history of the group is obscure, larvae of the genera Eurypogon and Macropogon likely feed on moss, while the larvae of Artematopus have been fed insect remains. The oldest fossils of the family date to the Middle Jurassic.
Throscidae is a family of elateroid beetles found worldwide with around 150 species in 5 extant genera. The larvae are soil-dwelling, siphoning fluid from mycorrhizae attached to trees. The adults are short-lived, with the adult males being noted for a complex mating dance. Like some other elateroids, they are capable of clicking.
Thanerocleridae is a family of beetles belonging to the superfamily Cleroidea. It was formerly considered a subfamily of Cleridae, but was recently elevated to the rank of family. The family has 36 living species in 10 genera, which are found globally, mostly in low-latitude tropical regions, though the genus Zenodosus is found in temperate North America. Thaneroclerid species are likely all predatory both in adult and larval stages. They target small fungus and wood associated beetles, and are generally found in places where such beetles are likely to be found, typically tree associated habitats such as under bark, though some species occur in other locations such as termite nests.
