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 it is downwardly directed and hidden by the thorax. Exceptions are the powderpost beetles (subfamily Lyctinae), and members of the subfamily Psoinae. ''Bostrychoplites cornutus'' has large, distinctive thoracic horns, and is found in parts of Africa and Arabia; it is often imported to Europe as

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e in African wooden bowls ("ethnic souvenirs") .

Fossils

The fossil record of the family extends to the Cretaceous, with the oldest records being from the Cenomanian aged Charentese and Burmese ambers, belonging to the extant genus '' Stephanopachys'' and the extant subfamilies Dinoderinae and Polycaoninae.

Selected species

This list is incomplete: * '' Amphicerus cornutus'' (Pallas, 1772) * '' Apate terebrans'' (Pallas, 1772) * '' Lichenophanes bicornis'' (Weber, 1801) * '' Prostephanus truncatus'' (Horn, 1878) * '' Xylobiops basilaris'' (Say, 1824) ;Species found in Australia * '' Dinoderus minutus'' (Fabricius) * '' Lyctus brunneus'' (Stephens) * '' Lyctus discedens'' Blackburn * '' Lyctus parallelocollis'' Blackburn * '' Mesoxylion collaris'' (Erichson) * '' Mesoxylion cylindricus'' (Macleay) * '' Minthea rugicollis'' (Walker) * '' Rhyzopertha dominica'' (Fabricius) - lesser grain borer * '' Sinoxylon anale'' (Lesne) * '' Xylion cylindricus'' Macleay * '' Xylobosca bispinosa'' (Macleay) * '' Xylodeleis obsipa'' Germar * '' Xylopsocus gibbicollis'' (Macleay) * '' Xylothrips religiosus'' (Boisduval) * '' Xylotillus lindi'' (Blackburn) Species found in New Zealand * '' Euderia squamosa'' Broun, 1880 * '' Dinoderus minutus'' (Fabricius, 1775) * '' Rhyzopertha'' sp. * '' Lyctus brunneus'' (Stephens, 1829) ;Species found in the United Kingdom * '' Bostrichus capucinus'' * ''

Bostrychoplites cornutus ''Bostrychoplites cornutus'' is a beetle species in the genus '' Bostrychoplites''. Pupae have been found in wood of deciduous trees. The species has been introduced to many countries in Africa south of the Sahara Desert, including Gambia ...

'' (Olivier, 1790) * '' Lyctus cavicollis'' * '' Lyctus linearis'' (Goeze, 1877) * '' Lyctus planicollis'' * '' Lyctus sinensis'' * '' Stephanopachys substriatus'' * '' Trogoxylon parallelopipedum'' ;Fossil species * †'' Discoclavata dominicana'' Poinar Jr., 2013

References

Bibliography

External links

Lucid
Fact Sheet

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
''Lyctus planicollis'', southern lyctus beetle
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
''Xylopsocus capucinus'', a false powderpost beetle
on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site Beetle families {{Bostrichidae-stub