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COLEOPTERA, Cleridae (Latreille 1804) -- <Images>
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to the following links for details on this group: Cleridae = Link
2 Description &
Statistics
Clerids show exceptional consistency in host preferences, most
confining themselves to Scolytoidea and other wood-boring or wood-inhabiting
Coleoptera. They are among the most
effective natural controls of these forest pests. Thaneroclerus girodi Chevr. was considered the most
important natural enemy of the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne
F., in the United States (Runner 1919).
The adults prey on adult beetles and the larvae on the eggs and larvae
in their burrows. A number of species
of genera Enoclerus, Thanasimus, and Tillus, etc. are important predators. Trogodendron fasiculatum Schreib. preys on pupae of
wood-boring Lepidoptera in Australia.
Cymatodera undulata Say is a predator on the
larvae of a cynipoid wasp, Disholcaspis
mamma Walsh, and other larvae
inhabiting the galls that it produces (Balduf 1926a). Several species are predators of egg pods
of Locustidae. The genus Necrobia are largely scavengers, but
occasionally prey on living insects.
Beeson (1926) reported on a large number of predaceous clerids that
are associated with bark and wood borers in India. Balduf (1935) provided an early summary of their food habits. Tothill et al. (1930) studied in some detail Callimerus arcufer
Chapin, a natural enemy of the coconut moth in Malaya. An attempt was made to introduce this
predator to Fiji for control of a related coconut moth, Levuana iridescens
B.B. It is not restricted to these
hosts but feeds generally on soft-bodied insects found on the trees. The eggs, measuring 1.6 X 0.4 mm., are
thickest in the middle region, slightly curved, and yellow in color and are
laid underneath host pupae. A maximum
of 203 eggs was obtained from a single female, with the average daily rate of
laying not exceeding 1, though at times up to 11 have been secured in one
day. Larvae feed by preference on
pupae, while adults prey extensively on larvae. There are 3 larval instars, though in some cases the 3rd is
omitted. Pupation usually occurs
within a cocoon. The life cycle from
egg to adult takes a minimum of ca. 5 weeks, of which incubation of the egg
requires 6 days and the larval feeding period ca. 19 days. The preoviposition period is 16 days or
more, and several generations are produced annually. Tarsostenus univittatus Rossi is predaceous, both
as larvae and adults, on powder post beetles of genera Xylobiops and Lyctus
infesting seasoned wood products. The
female inserts the extended ovipositor into the gallery entrance and lays one
or several eggs therein (St. George 1924).
The eggs are similar to those of the host, being elongate and
cylindrical and with the anterior end drawn out into a slender stalk, which
are ca. 1/7th the length of the egg (Clausen 1940/62). Bφving & Champlain (1920) have observed the behavior of
several species attacking primary and secondary bark borers. The eggs are usually laid in the host
entrance gallery or in cracks or crevices in the bark. The life cycle is usually correlated with
that of the host, and a 2-yr. cycle is suggested in some species. Because larvae feed on the immature stages
of their host, it is necessary that the cycle almost parallel that of the
latter, for the stages suitable for attack are available for only a
relatively short time. Species
attacking a 2-brooded host are themselves apt to have 2 generations annually. Pupation occurs in varied places, some species utilizing the host
gallery or pupal cell, while others form a cell in the soil at the base of
the tree. Enoclerus sphegeus F.
and other Enoclerus spp. line the
cell with a foam-like oral exudation.
Some clerids consistently pupate without forming a cocoon or
cell. Hibernation is not uniform, as
larvae, prepupae, pupae and adults of a few species can be found during
winter, while larvae or pupae may represent other species only. Adults are present in the field during
midsummer and may remain for several months. The behavior of Aulicus
terrestris Linsley as a predator of
the lubber grasshopper, Esselenia vanduzeei Hebard, and various larvae
of Lepidoptera in California was studied by Linsley 91936). Eggs are laid singly under stones or in
the soil in the immediate vicinity of the grasshopper egg masses. Larvae are very active and search in the
soil for their food, which seems limited to grasshopper eggs. The life cycle coincides with that of the
host, and adult beetles appear in late spring at the time the adult
grasshoppers are active. However,
adults do not prey on any stage of the grasshoppers but subsist instead on
various naked larvae of Lepidoptera, in particular those of Noctuidae, found
in or on the soil. This feeding is
mostly confined to females, males regularly refusing such food (Clausen
1940/62). Although most species are predaceous, some may develop at times
as external parasitoids. Such species
are principally in the genus Hydnocera. Hydnocera
verticalis Say has been reared from
the cocoons of Apanteles. Hydnocera
pubescens Lec. seems to be
parasitic on the larva of the cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boh.,
in its cell in the boll, and the parasitoid finally spins its cocoon and
pupates in the host cell. An adult of Isohydnocera
curtipennis Newm. was reared by
Sabrosky (1934) from a goldenrod gall (produced by the larva of Gnorismoschema). An examination of the contents of the gall
showed the empty shell of the lepidopterous pupa, within which the cast skin
of the beetle larva was found.
Development was thought to be at the expense of a single host, but
whether internal, as asserted by Sabrosky (1934) or external is
uncertain. Clausen (1940) cited Don
Clancy's observations on Hydnocera
spp. as enemies of codling moth larvae in their cocoons. It was indicated that although the larvae
are generally predaceous, a true parasitic development was possible. Species of Trichodes
developing on larvae of various bees, are on the borderline between
parasitism and predation (Cros 1908, 1911).
Some reach maturity on a single host, others move from cell to cell,
devouring several larvae, and they may also consume such of the host food
material as may be present. The eggs
may or may not be laid directly in the cell or nest, or they may be laid
elsewhere and the young larva searches for the host. Adults of some species feed mainly on
pollen. Several species are known to
attack the larvae of honeybees in the hive, and the genus seems limited to
hosts of this type. The overall
habits are close to Meloidae that develop in the cells of bees. Cleridae are a somewhat large family with more than 3,000 species
known as of 2000. They occur mostly
in tropical areas. Diagnostic
characters of these include an
11-segmented antenna, the apical 3 segments form a loose club; the anterior
coxae are large, conical, and the hind coxae are small and oblique. The tarsal formula is usually 5-5-5. They are small, hairy, elongated and often
brightly colored or with different patterns. Adults of Cleridae are known as "checkered beetles due to
the color pattern on their back. Most
species of Cleridae are predators as larvae and adults on immature wood
boring insects. Several species are
predators of grasshopper eggs. A few
species are primary, solitary, ectoparasitoids. Some feed on pollen or animal contents in the cells of wasps
and bees. Others feed on stored
products of vegetable or animal origin.
In some species the adults are found on flowers where they feed on
pollen. They may be among the most
important biotic control agents of wood-boring Coleoptera. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references
may be found at: MELVYL
Library] Balduf, W. V. 1935. The Bionomics of
Entomophagous Coleoptera. J. F. Swift
Co., NY. 220 p. Barr, W. F. 1950. Proc. calif.
Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 24: 485-519. Bellows, T. S.; Fisher, T. W.; Caltagirone, L.
E. 1999. Handbook of biological control. San Diego: Academic Press.
pp. 429430. Byrd, Jason H. 2001. James L., Castner. ed. Forensic
Entomology: The Utility of Arthropods in Legal Investigations 2nd ed..
Boca Raton: CRC Press. Costello, S.
2003. "Clerid Beetles- Voracious Predators" PDF. Colorado
State University Department of Entomology. pp. 115. Ebeling, W.
2002. "Chapter 7 Pests of Stored Food Products". Urban
Entomology. University of California Riverside. Gerstmeier, R.
1998. Checkered Beetles: Illustrated Key to the Cleridae and
Thanerocleridae of the Western Palaearctic. Weikersheim, Germany: Margraf Verlag. pp. 1215. Gredilha, R.;
Lima, A. F. 2007. "First record of Necrobia rufipes De Geer, 1775
Coleoptera; Cleridae associated with pet food in Brazil" PDF. Brazilian
Journal of Biology. 1 67. Hue, Yi.
2008. "Life Cycle of Thanasimus
formzcarzus Coleoptera: Cleridae in Southern Norway". Insect
Science Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences 5 1: 5562. Insects of eastern forests. Misc. Publ. 1426. U.S.
Forestry Service. Washington D.C: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service. 19885. pp. 274275. Johnson, N. F.; Triplehorn, Charles A. 2004. Borror
and DeLong's Introduction to the Study of Insects 7th ed.. Belmont:
Brooks/Cole. pp. p365400, 428429. Linsley, E. G. 1936. "Studies in the genus
Aulicus Spinola
Coleoptera-Cleridae". University of California Publications in
Entomology Berkley, California: University of California Press 6 9:
249262. Mahr, Susan
M. 2000. "Know Your Friends Checkered
Beetles". Biological Control News University of Wisconsin-Madison
7 1. Majka, C. 2006. "A guide to the Cleridae
of Atlantic Canada". Chebucto Community Net. 03-19. Mawdsley, J. R. 2002. "Ecological notes on
species of Cleridae Insecta: Coleoptera associated with the prairie flora of
central North America". The Great Lakes Entomologist 35 1: 1522.
McNamara, J.
1991 "Family Cleridae: checkered beetles". In:
Bousquet, Y. Ed.. Checklist of the Beetles of Canada and Alaska.
Agriculture Canada Publication 1861/E. 208211. Papp, C. S.
1960. Bull. S. Calif. Acad.
Sci. 59: 76-88. Poland, Therese M.; Borden, John H. December
1997. "Attraction of bark beetle predator, Thanasimus undatulus Coleoptera: Cleridae, to pheromones of the
spruce beetle and two secondary bark beetles Coleoptera: Scolytidae"
PDF. Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 94:
3541. Souza, A. & A. Linhares. 2008.
"Diptera and Coleoptera of potential forensic importance in southeastern
Brazil: relative abundance and seasonality". Medical and Veterinary
Entomology Royal Entomological Society 11 1: 812 White, R. E.
1998. A Field Guide to the Beetles of North America illustrated
and revised ed.. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 208209 |