The Trictenotomidae are a small family of

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 in the superfamily

Tenebrionoidea The Tenebrionoidea are a very large and diverse superfamily of beetles. It generally corresponds to the Heteromera of earlier authors. Taxonomy Tenebrionoidea contains the following families: * Aderidae Winkler 1927 (ant-like leaf beetles) ...

, containing fifteen species in two genera. Most species are found in the Oriental realm where they live in montane forest habitats. The family is considered, based on larval characters as well as sequence-based studies, to be closely related to the

Salpingidae Salpingidae or narrow-waisted bark beetles is a family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea. The species are small, about 1.5 – 7 mm in length. The family is globally distributed and consists of about 45 genera and 300 species, w ...

Adult Trictenotomidae can be mistaken for Cerambycidae (Prioninae) or Lucanidae but their 5-5-4

tarsal formula Tarsal formula is the number of segments of the tarsi, which has 3 numbers a-b-c, starting with the fore leg (a), then the middle leg (b), then the hind leg (c). For example, a tarsal formula of "5-5-4" as found in the Trictenotomidae means the ...

makes them distinctive. They have a long 11-segmented antenna. There are no fossil species known as yet, and nearly all the species are found mainly along the Himalayas extending into China, Korea, the Sunda Islands, and the Philippine Archipelago. ''Trictenotoma grayi'' is found in the Western Ghats of peninsular India while ''T. templetonii'' is found in Sri Lanka. Adult beetles are attracted to lights and specimens are found widely in collections around the world however very little was known of their life-history until the habits of ''Trictenotoma formosana'' were studied in captivity in Taiwan in 2019. Based on that species, these are thought to breed in wood, the eggs being laid under bark. The eggs hatch after about 10 days. The larvae are carnivorous and can be cannibalistic. They build tunnels in soft wood in which they stay. They feed on their exuviae and may undergo 8-9 moults over the course of one and a half years before they pupate. The pupae eclose in 40 to 46 days as adults. Adults feed on tree sap. The scape of the antenna is longer than segments 2 and 3 together and the second segment isg rounded. The eight antennal segment is simple in ''Trictenotoma'' and has lateral projections in ''Autocrates''. The terminal three antennal segments form a club. * Genus '' Autocrates'' J. Thomson, 1860 **'' Autocrates aeneus'' Parry, 1847 **'' Autocrates maqueti'' Drumont, 2006 **'' Autocrates obertheuri'' Vuillet, 1910 **'' Autocrates ivanovi'' Drumont, 2016 **'' Autocrates vitalisi'' Vuillet, 1912 * Genus '' Trictenotoma'' Gray, 1832 ** '' Trictenotoma childreni'' Gray, 1832 ** '' Trictenotoma cindarella'' Kreische, 1921 ** '' Trictenotoma davidi'' Deyrolle, 1875 ** '' Trictenotoma formosana'' Kreische, 1920 ** '' Trictenotoma grayi'' Smith, 1851 ** '' Trictenotoma lansbergi'' Dohrn, 1882 ** '' Trictenotoma mniszechi'' Deyrolle, 1875 ** '' Trictenotoma mouhoti'' Deyrolle, 1875 ** '' Trictenotoma pollocki'' ** '' Trictenotoma templetoni'' Westwood, 1848 ** '' Trictenotoma westwoodi'' Deyrolle, 1875

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q630278 Beetle families