| Tarsostenus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tarsostenus univittatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Cleridae |
| Subfamily: | Tarsosteninae |
| Genus: | Tarsostenus Spinola, 1844 |
Tarsostenus is a genus of checkered beetles in the family Cleridae. It includes the cosmopolitan species T. univittatus. [1] [2]
Tarsostenus are oblong beetles 3.5–8.0 mm long and 1.0–2.0 mm wide. They can be recognised by a distinctly oblong pronotum with glabrous streaks on the disc and without lateral tubercles, the elytral disc with 10 rows of punctations, and the unguis lacking a denticle. [3]
Several species within the genus have a transverse white band halfway along the elytra. [4]
Based on those species whose ecology is known, Tarsostenus are predators on wood-boring beetles.
For example, T. univittatus preys on bostrichids (Lyctus, Sinoxylon , Xylobiops and Trogoxylon [5] ) and anobiines. [6] It has been found in borer-infested lumber and wooden furniture from a range of different trees: ash, hickory, persimmon, white oak, Vahellia tortilis (=Acacia tortilis) Hayne raddiana, pecan, Cercis siliquastrum , Corymbia maculata (=Eucalyptus maculata), Ficus retusa , Schinus terebinthifolius and Triplochiton sclerodendron. [5]
Tarsostenus hilaris has been collected from Eucalyptus "laden with various species of cerambycids". [4]
The holotype of T. kanak was collected by beating unspecified vegetation in a rainforest. [4]
Listed below are the species of Tarsostenus, along with their distributions: [4]
Media related to Tarsostenus at Wikimedia Commons