''Cryptophagus'' is a genus 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 family

Cryptophagidae Cryptophagidae is a family of beetles with representatives found in all biogeographic realms. Members of this family are commonly called silken fungus beetles and both adults and larvae appear to feed exclusively on fungi although in a wide vari ...

, the silken fungus beetles. It is distributed across all the

biogeographic realm A biogeographic realm is the broadest biogeography, biogeographic division of Earth's land surface, based on distributional patterns of terrestrial animal, terrestrial organisms. They are subdivided into bioregions, which are further subdivid ...

s of the world.Lyubarsky, G. Y. and E. E. Perkovsky. (2011)
Third contribution on Rovno amber silken fungus beetles: a new Eocene species of ''Cryptophagus'' (Coleoptera, Clavicornia, Cryptophagidae).
''ZooKeys'' (130), 255-61. Like most of the other beetles in the family, these are

fungivore Fungivory or mycophagy is the process of organisms consuming fungi. Many different organisms have been recorded to gain their energy from consuming fungi, including birds, mammals, insects, plants, amoebas, gastropods, nematodes, bacteria and othe ...

s, feeding on fungal

spore In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual reproduction, sexual (in fungi) or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for biological dispersal, dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores fo ...

s and

hypha A hypha (; ) is a long, branching, filamentous structure of a fungus, oomycete, or actinobacterium. In most fungi, hyphae are the main mode of vegetative growth, and are collectively called a mycelium. Structure A hypha consists of one o ...

e.''Cryptophagus'' spp.
Canadian Grain Commission. 2013. These beetles are flattened and oval in shape, and are generally 2 to 3 millimeters long. They are reddish to dark brown, sometimes with yellowish patterns on the

elytra An elytron (; ; : elytra, ) is a modified, hardened forewing of beetles (Coleoptera), though a few of the true bugs (Hemiptera) such as the family Schizopteridae are extremely similar; in true bugs, the forewings are called hemelytra (sometime ...

. The thorax is often sculptured with teeth, angles, or other projections. Some are hairy. The

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 ...

is usually yellow-brown and cylindrical but flattened, with visible legs. Some species are considered

pests PESTS was an anonymous American activist group formed in 1986 to critique racism, tokenism, and exclusion in the art world. PESTS produced newsletters, posters, and other print material highlighting examples of discrimination in gallery represent ...

when they inhabit stores of

grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...

flour Flour is a powder made by Mill (grinding), grinding raw grains, List of root vegetables, roots, beans, Nut (fruit), nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredie ...

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed prior to cooking or being eaten on its own. Drying may occur either naturally, by sun, through the use of industrial dehydrators, or by freeze drying. ...

, and other products, however, the beetles feed on fungi growing on the food product rather than the product itself. They also breed in the fungi, laying eggs in the hyphae. They are more common in products that are damp and moldy. The beetles can transmit fungal spores to products, encouraging mold growth. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

the beetles are common in the grain-producing

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

regions. These beetles can be found in other habitats where fungi are available, such as

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

s, the nests of other

hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...

ns such as

wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...

s and

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, rodent nests, and

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

.Lyubarsky, G. Y. and E. E. Perkovsky. (2012)
The first Eocene species of the genus ''Cryptophagus'' (Coleoptera, Clavicornia, Cryptophagidae).
''Vestnik Zoologii'' 46(1), 83-87. Species include:''Cryptophagus''.
Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

*'' Cryptophagus acutangulus'' – acute-angled fungus beetle *'' Cryptophagus bidentatus'' *'' Cryptophagus cellaris'' – cellar fungus beetle *''Cryptophagus confertus'' *'' Cryptophagus corticinus'' *''Cryptophagus croceus'' *'' Cryptophagus dentatus'' *'' Cryptophagus difficilis'' *'' Cryptophagus discedens'' *''Cryptophagus distinguendus'' *'' Cryptophagus fallax'' *''Cryptophagus fumidulus'' *''Cryptophagus hebes'' *''Cryptophagus hexagonalis'' *''Cryptophagus histricus'' *''Cryptophagus jakowlewi'' *'' Cryptophagus lapponicus'' *'' Cryptophagus latens'' *'' Cryptophagus laticollis'' *''Cryptophagus lecontei'' *''Cryptophagus lycoperdi'' *''Cryptophagus mainensis'' *''Cryptophagus maximus'' *''Cryptophagus nobilis'' *''Cryptophagus obsoletus'' *''Cryptophagus peregrinus'' *'' Cryptophagus pilosus'' *''Cryptophagus plenus'' *''Cryptophagus politus'' *''Cryptophagus porrectus'' *''Cryptophagus quadrihamatus'' *'' Cryptophagus saginatus'' *'' Cryptophagus scanicus'' *''Cryptophagus scutellatus'' *'' Cryptophagus setulosus'' *'' Cryptophagus stromus'' *'' Cryptophagus subfumatus'' *''Cryptophagus tuberculosus'' *'' Cryptophagus valens'' *'' Cryptophagus varus'' – sigmoid fungus beetle *''Cryptophagus vestigialis'' Some

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

species have been discovered in

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

and as

compression fossil A compression fossil is a fossil preserved in sedimentary rock that has undergone physical compression. While it is uncommon to find animals preserved as good compression fossils, it is very common to find plants preserved this way. The reason f ...

s in rock: *''Cryptophagus alexagrestis'' *''Cryptophagus bassleri'' *''Cryptophagus harenus'' *''Cryptophagus petricola'' *''Cryptophagus suncholensis''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14930525 Cryptophagidae Cucujoidea genera Cosmopolitan insects