Cucujiformia is an

infraorder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

polyphaga Polyphaga is the largest and most diverse suborder of beetles. It comprises 144 families in 16 superfamilies, and displays an enormous variety of specialization and adaptation, with over 350,000 described species, or approximately 90% of the be ...

beetle 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 describ ...

s, representing most plant-eating beetles. The infraorder contains the seven superfamilies: * Chrysomeloidea (~7 families including

longhorn beetle 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 ...

s and

leaf beetle The insects of the beetle family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles, and include over 37,000 (and probably at least 50,000) species in more than 2,500 genera, making up one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle ...

s) *

Cleroidea 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. Description Cleroidea is defined by the f ...

(

checkered beetle Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences. Cleridae have many niches and fee ...

s, bark-gnawing beetles and soft-winged flower beetles) *

Coccinelloidea Coccinelloidea is a superfamily of beetles in the order Coleoptera, formerly included in the superfamily Cucujoidea. There are more than 10,000 species in Coccinelloidea, including more than 6000 in the lady beetle family Coccinellidae. Morphol ...

(15 families, includes ladybirds and fungus beetles) *

Cucujoidea Cucujoidea is a superfamily of beetles. This group formerly included all of the families now included in the superfamily Coccinelloidea. They include some fungus beetles and a diversity of lineages of "bark beetles" unrelated to the "true" bark ...

(~27 families) *

Curculionoidea Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

(~8 families primarily consisting of weevils and also including snout beetles and

bark beetle A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the ...

s) * Lymexyloidea (ship-timber beetles) * Tenebrionoidea (formerly "Heteromera") (30 families including

blister beetle Blister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. About 7,500 species are known worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some are aposematically colored, announcing their ...

s and ant-like beetles)

References

External links

* Insect infraorders Taxa named by Auguste Lameere {{Cucujiformia-stub