Rove beetle

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Rove beetles
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic–Recent [1]
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Rove beetles of western Eurasia
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Suborder: Polyphaga
Infraorder: Staphyliniformia
Superfamily: Staphylinoidea
Family: Staphylinidae
Latreille, 1802
Genera

The rove beetles are a family (Staphylinidae) of beetles, [2] primarily distinguished by their short elytra (wing covers) that typically leave more than half of their abdominal segments exposed. With over 66,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the largest family in the beetle order, and one of the largest families of organisms. It is an ancient group that first appeared during the Middle Jurassic based on definitive records of fossilized rove beetles, with the Late Triassic taxon Leehermania more likely belonging to Myxophaga. [1] They are an ecologically and morphologically diverse group of beetles, and commonly encountered in terrestrial ecosystems.

Contents

One well-known species is the devil's coach-horse beetle (Ocypus olens). For some other species, see list of British rove beetles.

Anatomy

As might be expected for such a large family, considerable variation exists among the species. Sizes range from <1 to 35 mm (1.4 in), with most in the 2–8 mm range, and the form is generally elongated, with some rove beetles being ovoid in shape. Colors range from yellow and red to reddish-brown to brown to black to iridescent blue and green. The antennae usually have 11 segments and are filiform, with moderate clubbing in some genera. The abdomen may be very long and flexible, and some rove beetles superficially resemble earwigs.These beetles are able to fold themselves into a sort of origami shape. In the genera Paederinae, Euaesthetinae, and Osoriinae, and partially in Steninae, the tergum and sternum on the visible abdominal segments have fused, making each segment ring-shaped. [3]

Some rove beetles, including members of Antimerus [4] and Phanolinus , [5] are metallic in appearance.

Some members of Paederina (specifically the genus Paederus ), a subtribe of Paederinae, contain a potent vesicant in their haemolymph that can produce a skin irritation called dermatitis linearis, [6] also known as Paederus dermatitis. The irritant pederin is highly toxic, more potent than cobra venom. [7]

Ecology

Rove beetles are known from every type of habitat in which beetles occur, and their diets include just about everything except the living tissues of higher plants, but now including higher plants with the discovery of the diet of Himalusa thailandensis. Most rove beetles are predators of insects and other invertebrates, living in forest leaf litter and similar decaying plant matter. They are also commonly found under stones, and around freshwater margins. Almost 400 species are known to live on ocean shores that are submerged at high tide, [8] including the pictured rove beetle, [9] although these are much fewer than 1% of the worldwide total of Staphylinidae. Other species have adapted to live as inquilines in ant and termite colonies, and some live in mutualistic relationships with mammals whereby they eat fleas and other parasites, benefiting the host. A few species, notably those of the genus Aleochara , are scavengers and carrion feeders, or are parasitoids of other insects, particularly of certain fly pupae. To profit from the alleged advantages, several Staphylinidae have been transferred into Italy, Hawaii, the continental United States and Easter Island by practitioners. Another advantage of rove beetles is their sensitivity to changes in the environment, such as habitat alteration. This means they have potential as an ecological disturbance indicator in human-dominated environments.[ citation needed ]

Although rove beetles' appetites for other insects would seem to make them obvious candidates for biological control of pests, and empirically they are believed to be important controls in the wild, experiments using them have not been notably successful. Greater success is seen with those species that are parasitoids (genus Aleochara).

Rove beetles of the genus Stenus are specialist predators of small invertebrates such as springtails (Collembola). Their labium can shoot out from the head using blood pressure. The thin rod of the labium ends in a pad of bristly hairs and hooks and between these hairs are small pores that exude an adhesive glue-like substance, which sticks to prey. [10]

Hairy rove beetles (Creophilus maxillosus) at four days and larva at seven days under rabbit carrion.

Systematics

Classification of the 63,650 (as of 2018) staphylinid species is ongoing and controversial, with some workers proposing an organization of as many as 10 separate families, but the current favored system is one of 32 subfamilies, about 167 tribes (some grouped into supertribes), and about 3,200 genera. About 400 new species are being described each year, and some estimates suggest three-quarters of tropical species are as yet undescribed.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<i>Trox scaber</i> Species of beetle

Trox scaber is a beetle of the family Trogidae. The 5 to 8 mm long insect is found worldwide, including in Europe, and lives in bird nests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paederus dermatitis</span> Medical condition

Paederus dermatitis, medically known as dermatitis linearis, is a skin irritation resulting from contact with the hemolymph of certain rove beetles, a group that belongs to the insect order Coleoptera and the genus Paederus. Other local names given to Paederus dermatitis include spider-lick, whiplash dermatitis, and Nairobi fly dermatitis.

<i>Pentarthrum huttoni</i> Species of beetle

Pentarthrum huttoni is a species of wood boring weevil in family Curculionidae. It has a mainly nearctic distribution, but has also been reported from several European countries. It was first reported in Austria in 2006 when it was found to be the cause of disintegration of historically significant 18th century softwood coffins in the crypt of St. Michael's church in the center of Vienna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staphylininae</span> Subfamily of beetles

Staphylininae are a subfamily of rove beetles. They contain the typical rove beetles with their long but fairly robust blunt-headed and -tipped bodies and short elytra, as well as some more unusually-shaped lineages.

<i>Paederus</i> Genus of beetles

Paederus is a genus of small beetles of the family Staphylinidae. With 622 valid species assigned by 1987 to the subtribe Paederina, and with all but 148 within Paederus itself, the genus is large. Due to toxins in the hemolymph of some species within this genus, it has given its name to paederus dermatitis, a characteristic skin irritation that occurs if one of the insects is crushed against skin. A scholarly paper in 2002 suggested that a Paederus species could have been responsible for some of the ten Plagues of Egypt described in the Bible's Book of Exodus.

<i>Liparus coronatus</i> Species of beetle

Liparus coronatus is a species of beetles belonging to the family Curculionidae.

<i>Dryocoetes autographus</i> Species of beetle

Dryocoetes autographus is a species of weevil native to Europe.

<i>Hylesinus fraxini</i> Species of beetle

Hylesinus fraxini is a species of weevil native to Europe.

<i>Dryocoetes villosus</i> Species of beetle

Dryocoetes villosus is a species of weevil native to Europe.

<i>Orthotomicus laricis</i> Species of beetle

Orthotomicus laricis, commonly known as the lesser larch bark beetle, is a species of weevil native to Europe.

<i>Pityogenes bidentatus</i> Species of beetle

Pityogenes bidentatus is a species of bark beetle native to Europe.

<i>Trypodendron domesticum</i> Species of beetle

Trypodendron domesticum is a species of weevil native to Europe.

<i>Grypus equiseti</i> Species of beetle

Grypus equiseti, known by the common name horsetail weevil, is a species of weevil native to Europe. It feeds on Equisetum arvense and Equisetum palustre plants. It has been introduced to New Zealand to control Equisetum arvense, which is an invasive species there.

<i>Notaris acridulus</i> Species of beetle

Notaris acridulus is a species of weevil native to Europe.

<i>Thryogenes nereis</i> Species of beetle

Thryogenes nereis is a species of weevil native to Europe.

<i>Tournotaris bimaculatus</i> Species of beetle

Tournotaris bimaculatus is a species of weevil native to Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athetini</span> Tribe of beetles

Athetini is a tribe of rove beetles in the family Staphylinidae. There are at least 50 genera and 430 described species in Athetini.

<i>Ocypus nitens</i> Species of beetle

Ocypus nitens is a species of large rove beetle in the family Staphylinidae.

<i>Rugilus rufipes</i> Species of beetle

Rugilus rufipes is a species of rove beetle in the family Staphylinidae. It is commonly found across Europe and parts of North America. These beetles are known for their slender bodies and distinctive red legs, which give the species its name.

<i>Coptocephala unifasciata</i> Species of beetle

Coptocephala unifasciata is a species of leaf beetle belonging to the family Chrysomelidae, subfamily Cryptocephalinae.

References

  1. 1 2 Fikáček, Martin; Beutel, Rolf G.; Cai, Chenyang; Lawrence, John F.; Newton, Alfred F.; Solodovnikov, Alexey; Ślipiński, Adam; Thayer, Margaret K.; Yamamoto, Shûhei (January 2020). "Reliable placement of beetle fossils via phylogenetic analyses – Triassic Leehermania as a case study (Staphylinidae or Myxophaga?)". Systematic Entomology. 45 (1): 175–187. Bibcode:2020SysEn..45..175F. doi:10.1111/syen.12386. ISSN   0307-6970. S2CID   203407211.
  2. ↑ Gomes Gonçalves, Marcos Paulo (December 2017). "Relationship Between Meteorological Conditions and Beetles in Mata de Cocal". Revista Brasileira de Meteorologia. 32 (4): 543–554. doi: 10.1590/0102-7786324003 . ISSN   0102-7786.
  3. ↑ rove beetles - Staphylinidae
  4. ↑ Solodovnikov, Alexey; Newton, Alfred (2010-11-10). "Revision of the rove beetle genus Antimerus (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Staphylininae), a puzzling endemic Australian lineage of the tribe Staphylinini". ZooKeys (67): 21–63. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.67.704 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   3088419 . PMID   21594033.
  5. ↑ Chatzimanolis, Stylianos (2021-11-17). "Out of Xanthopygus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae): escape from polyphyly". ZooKeys (1071): 83–107. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1071.75947 . ISSN   1313-2970. PMC   8613137 . PMID   34887695.
  6. ↑ Capinera, John L; J. Howard Frank (2008). "Dermatitis linearis". Encyclopedia of entomology. Springer. pp. 1179–. ISBN   978-1-4020-6242-1. The 28 species thus far shown to produce such a toxin belong to three of the 14 genera of Paederina, namely Paederus, Paederidus, and Megalopaederus
  7. ↑ "Ectoparasites". Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp. Archived from the original on 2007-03-05. Retrieved 2007-06-04.
  8. ↑ J.H. Frank & K.-J. Ahn (2011). "Coastal Staphylinidae (Coleoptera): A worldwide checklist, biogeography and natural history". ZooKeys (107): 1–98. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.107.1651 . PMC   3392188 . PMID   22792029.
  9. ↑ P. C. Craig (1970). "The behavior and distribution of the intertidal sand beetle, Thinopinus pictus (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae)". Ecology . 51 (6): 1012–1017. doi:10.2307/1933627. JSTOR   1933627.
  10. ↑ Piper, Ross (2007), Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press.

(Méndez-Rojas, Cultid-Medina and Escobar, 2022)

Important works

For the Palaearctic fauna, the most up-to-date works are:

Regional works

Europe

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