Ptinidae is a family of

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 in the superfamily

Bostrichoidea Bostrichoidea is a Taxonomic rank, superfamily of beetles. It is the type superfamily of the infraorder Bostrichiformia. Description The Bostrichoidea are united by the following features: modified cryptonephridism, the structure of the aedea ...

. There are at least 220 genera and 2,200 described species in Ptinidae worldwide. The family includes

spider beetle Spider beetles make up the subfamily Ptininae, in the family Ptinidae. There are approximately 70 genera and 600 species in the subfamily, with about 12 genera and 70 species in North America north of Mexico. Spider beetles have round bodies wi ...

s and

deathwatch beetle The deathwatch beetle (''Xestobium rufovillosum'') is a species of woodboring beetle that sometimes infests the structural timbers of old buildings. The adult beetle is brown and measures on average long. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old ...

, as well as the

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

drugstore A pharmacy (also called drugstore in American English or community pharmacy or chemist in Commonwealth English) is a premises which provides pharmaceutical drugs, among other products. At the pharmacy, a pharmacist oversees the fulfillment of m ...

and

furniture Furniture refers to objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., Stool (seat), stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (table (furniture), tables), storing items, working, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Furnitur ...

beetles. The Ptinidae family species are hard to identify because they are so small, and they have a compact body structure. They also have similar morphologies within the genera and species of the family. There are three main groups in the superfamily Bostrichoidea:

Bostrichidae The Bostrichidae are a family of beetles with more than 700 described species. They are commonly called auger beetles, false powderpost beetles, or horned powderpost beetles. Anatomy The head of most auger beetles cannot be seen from above, as ...

, Anobiidae, and Ptinidae. These have undergone frequent changes in hierarchical classification since their inception. They have been treated as a single family, three independent families, the two families Bostrichidae and Anobiidae, or the two families Bostrichidae and Ptinidae. More recent literature treats these as the two families Bostrichidae and Ptinidae, with Anobiidae a subfamily of Ptinidae (

Anobiinae Anobiinae is the subfamily of death-watch beetles in the family Ptinidae, with at least 45 genera. It was formerly considered a member of the family Anobiidae, but its family name has since been changed to Ptinidae. The larvae of a number of sp ...

). Spider beetles are so named because they look like spiders. Some species have long legs, antennae that can seem like an additional pair of legs, and a body shape that may appear superficially like that of a spider. Deathwatch beetles are named because of a clicking noise that two (and possibly more) species tend to make in the walls of houses and other buildings. This clicking noise is designed to communicate with potential mates, but has historically caused fear of impending death during times of plague and sickness.

Pests

The larvae of a number of Ptinidae species tend to bore into wood, earning them the name "woodworm" or "wood borer". Several species are pests, causing damage to wooden furniture, house structures, tobacco, and dried food products. The deathwatch beetles ''

Xestobium rufovillosum The deathwatch beetle (''Xestobium rufovillosum'') is a species of woodboring beetle that sometimes infests the structural timbers of old buildings. The adult beetle is brown and measures on average long. Eggs are laid in dark crevices in old w ...

'', ''

Hemicoelus carinatus ''Hemicoelus carinatus'' is a species in the subfamily Anobiinae ("death-watch beetles"), in the order Coleoptera Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of w ...

'', and '' Hemicoelus gibbicollis'' are economically significant pests, damaging flooring, joists, and other timber in housing. The "furniture beetle", ''

Anobium punctatum The common furniture beetle or common house borer (''Anobium punctatum'') is a woodboring beetle originally from Europe but now distributed worldwide. In the larval stage it bores in wood and feeds upon it. Adult ''Anobium punctatum'' measure i ...

'', is a species that is often found emerging from in-home wood furnishings. The "drugstore beetle", ''

Stegobium paniceum The drugstore beetle (''Stegobium paniceum''), also known as the bread beetle, biscuit beetle, and misnamed as the biscuit weevil (despite not being a weevil), is a small brown beetle that infests a wide variety of dried plant products, where it i ...

'', is known to infest a variety of stored materials, including bread, flour, cereal, prescription drugs, strychnine powder, packaged foods, and even Egyptian tombs. The "cigarette beetle," ''

Lasioderma serricorne ''Lasioderma serricorne'', more commonly referred to as the cigarette beetle, cigar beetle, or tobacco beetle, is a small beetle that shares a resemblance with the drugstore beetle (''Stegobium paniceum)'' and the common furniture beetle (''Anobi ...

'', is a widespread and destructive pest of harvested and manufactured tobacco. Damage and economic losses from ''L. serricorne'' infestations were estimated by the USDA to be 0.7% of the total warehoused tobacco commodity in 1971.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Woodboring beetles Beetle families

Pests

See also

References

Further reading

External links