| Xerasia | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Byturidae |
| Genus: | Xerasia Lewis, 1895 |
Xerasia is a genus of fruitworm beetles in the family Byturidae. There are four described species in Xerasia. [1]
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 described species, is the largest of all orders, constituting almost 40% of described insects and 25% of all known animal species; new species are discovered frequently, with estimates suggesting that there are between 0.9 and 2.1 million total species. Found in almost every habitat except the sea and the polar regions, they interact with their ecosystems in several ways: beetles often feed on plants and fungi, break down animal and plant debris, and eat other invertebrates. Some species are serious agricultural pests, such as the Colorado potato beetle, while others such as Coccinellidae eat aphids, scale insects, thrips, and other plant-sucking insects that damage crops.
The Hydroscaphidae are a small family of water beetles known commonly as skiff beetles. As of 2010, there are 23 species in the family. Several are recently described.
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described. Most species are characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body. In various members of the family, however, the antennae are quite short and such species can be difficult to distinguish from related beetle families such as the Chrysomelidae. The scientific name of this beetle family goes back to a figure from Greek mythology: after an argument with nymphs, the shepherd Cerambus was transformed into a large beetle with horns.
Elateridae or click beetles are a family of beetles. Other names include elaters, snapping beetles, spring beetles or skipjacks. This family was defined by William Elford Leach (1790–1836) in 1815. They are a cosmopolitan beetle family characterized by the unusual click mechanism they possess. There are a few other families of Elateroidea in which a few members have the same mechanism, but most elaterid subfamilies can click. A spine on the prosternum can be snapped into a corresponding notch on the mesosternum, producing a violent "click" that can bounce the beetle into the air. Clicking is mainly used to avoid predation, although it is also useful when the beetle is on its back and needs to right itself. There are about 9300 known species worldwide, and 965 valid species in North America.
Cleroidea is a small superfamily of beetles containing over 10,000 species. Most of the members of the group are somewhat slender, often with fairly soft, flexible elytra, and typically hairy or scaly.
The Attelabidae is a widespread family of weevils. They are among the primitive weevils, because of their straight antennae, which are inserted near the base of the rostrum. The prothorax is much narrower than the base of the elytra on the abdomen. Attelabidae and the related family Rhynchitidae are known commonly as the leaf-rolling weevils. Rhynchitidae may be treated as subfamily Rhynchitinae of the Attelabidae.
Coccinellidae is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in Great Britain. Entomologists prefer the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles to avoid confusion with true bugs. Many of the species have conspicuous aposematic colours and patterns, such as red with black spots, that warn potential predators that they are distasteful.
Prionoceridae is a small family of beetles, in the suborder Polyphaga. They form a group within the cleroid beetles and were formerly treated as a subfamily (Prionocerinae) within the family Melyridae. Very little is known of their life history but most species are pollen feeders as adults and occur in large numbers during spring or the host flowering season. Larvae are predatory or feed on decomposing wood.
Laemophloeidae, "lined flat bark beetles," is a family in the superfamily Cucujoidea characterized by predominantly dorso-ventrally compressed bodies, head and pronotal discs bordered by ridges or grooves, and inverted male genitalia. Size range of adults is 1–5 mm (0.04–0.2 in) in length. Currently, it contains 40 genera and about 450 species, and is represented on all continents except Antarctica; species richness is greatest in the tropics.
Byturidae, also known as Fruitworms, is a very small family of beetles, in the suborder Polyphaga, comprising fewer than 20 species worldwide. The larvae of some species develop in fruits. Byturus unicolor affects species of Rubus and Geum.
Diplotaxis is a large genus of scarab beetles in the subfamily Melolonthinae. There are at least 250 described species in Diplotaxis distributed over North and Central America.
Megalodacne is a genus of fungivorous beetles in the family Erotylidae.
Bruchus is a genus of beetles in the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. They are distributed mainly in the Palearctic, especially in Europe. Several occur in other parts of the world, such as North America, Africa, and Australia, as introduced species. Several species are notorious agricultural pests.
Ross Taylor Bell was an American entomologist with particular interest in the invertebrate natural history of Vermont, United States, and carabid beetles. Together with his wife, Joyce Bell, his work at the University of Vermont was largely taxonomic, where they described more than 75% of the rhysodine species known to science. Ross also wrote a number of seminal papers in his chosen field.
Epuraea terminalis is a species of sap-feeding beetles in the family Nitidulidae. It is found in Europe and Northern Asia and North America.
Xerasia grisescens is a species of fruitworm beetle in the family Byturidae. It is found in North America.
Byturus is a genus of fruitworm beetles in the family Byturidae. There are five described species in Byturus.
Tritoma biguttata is a species of pleasing fungus beetle in the family Erotylidae. It is found in North America.
Byturus ochraceus is a species of beetle in the fruitworm family Byturidae.
Haematoides is a genus of beetles in the family Byturidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, Haematoides davidis. The species name has sometimes been misspelled as davidii.
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