The Aderidae, sometimes called ant-like leaf beetles, are a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

s that bear some resemblance to

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

s. The family consists of about 1,000 species in about 40 genera, of which most are tropical, although overall distribution is worldwide. As with the

Anthicidae The Anthicidae are a family of beetles that resemble ants. They are sometimes called ant-like flower beetles or ant-like beetles. The family comprises over 3,500 species in about 100 genera. Description Their heads constrict just in front of ...

, their heads constrict just in front of the

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

, forming a neck, although the posterior end of the pronotum is not usually as narrow. The eyes are hairy with a granular appearance. The first two abdominal

sternite The sternum (: sterna) is the ventral portion of a segment of an arthropod thorax or abdomen. In insects, the sterna are usually single, large sclerites, and external. However, they can sometimes be divided in two or more, in which case the su ...

s are fused, and in only some groups is a suture even visible. Sizes are 1–4 mm. As the name suggests, most adults are found on the undersides of the leaves of shrubs and trees, while larvae have been found in rotting wood,

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

, and nests of other insects. , the last publication of a world catalog of the family was that of

Maurice Pic Maurice Pic (23 March 1866, in Marrigny near Digoin – 29 December 1957, in Les Guerreaux) was a French entomologist who specialised in Coleoptera. He contributed to Mary-Louis Fauconnet's ''Catalogue raisonné des coléoptères de Saône-et- ...

in 1910. The oldest confirmed member of the family is '' Gryzmalia'' from the mid Cretaceous

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...

of Myanmar.

Genera

*'' Aderus'' *'' Agacinosia'' *'' Agenjosia'' *'' Anidorus'' *''

Ariotus ''Ariotus'' is a genus of ant-like leaf beetles in the family Aderidae. There are at least four described species in ''Ariotus''. Species These four species belong to the genus ''Ariotus'': * '' Ariotus luteolus'' (Casey, 1895) * '' Ariot ...

'' *'' Axylophilus'' *'' Beltranosia'' *'' Candidosia'' *'' Carinatophilus'' *'' Cnopus'' *'' Cobososia'' *'' Dasytomorphus'' *'' Dusmetosia'' *'' Elonus'' *'' Emelinus'' *'' Escalerosia'' *'' Euglenes'' *'' Ganascus'' *'' Gompelia'' *'' Gonzalosia'' *'' Gymnoganascus'' *'' Hintonosia'' *'' Megaxenus'' *'' Menorosia'' *'' Mixaderus'' *'' Phytobaenus'' *'' Picemelinus'' *'' Pseudananca'' *'' Pseudanidorus'' *'' Pseudariotus'' *'' Pseudolotelus'' *'' Pseudozena'' *'' Saegerosia'' *'' Scraptogetus'' *'' Syzeton'' *'' Syzetonellus'' *'' Syzetoninus'' *'' Tokiophilus'' *'' Transrenus'' *'' Vanonus'' *'' Zarcosia'' *'' Zenascus'' *''

Zonantes ''Syzeton'' is a genus of ant-like leaf beetles in the family Aderidae. There are more than 10 described species in ''Syzeton''. The species of ''Syzeton'' were formerly members of the genus Zonantes. In 2022, research was published moving the ...

References

* Donald S. Chandler, "Aderidae", in Ross H. Arnett, Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, ''

American Beetles ''American Beetles'' is a comprehensive description of the beetles of North America north of the tropical area of Mexico. It was started by Ross H. Arnett, Jr. as an update of his classic ''The Beetles of the United States''; along with Michael ...

'' (CRC Press, 2002), vol. 2 {{Taxonbar, from=Q547092 Polyphaga families