Larva of ''Cucujus cinnaberinus'' ''Cucujus cinnaberinus'' is a species 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

Cucujidae The Cucujidae, or flat bark beetles, are a family of distinctively flat beetles found worldwide (except Africa and Antarctica) under the bark of dead trees. The family has received considerable taxonomic attention in recent years and now consists ...

, the flat bark beetles. It is native to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, being most common in

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

and rare in much of Southern and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. This beetle lives under tree bark. It is associated with

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s (''Quercus'' spp.),

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

s (''Acer'' spp.), and

poplars ''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood. The we ...

(''Populus'' spp.). It can be found in various habitat types, including forests and urban areas. It is a saproxylic species, often feeding on decomposing wood. It has also been observed eating

maggot A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, hoverflies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and cr ...

s and the larvae of other beetles. This beetle is on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

as a

near-threatened species A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qu ...

. It is on many national lists of threatened species in Europe. Forest management practices include the removal of dead wood and dying trees, reducing available habitat and food sources for the beetle.Horak, J., Vávrová, E., & Chobot, K. (2010)
Habitat preferences influencing populations, distribution and conservation of the endangered saproxylic beetle ''Cucujus cinnaberinus'' (Coleoptera: Cucujidae) at the landscape level.
''European Journal of Entomology'' 107(1), 81.

References

External links

''Cucujus cinnaberinus.''
Bold Systems.
''Cucujus cinnaberinus''.

Global Biodiversity Information Facility The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) is an international organisation that focuses on making scientific data on biodiversity available via the Internet using web services. The data are provided by many institutions from around th ...

(GBIF).
''Cucujus cinnaberinus''.
Biolib.cz
''Cucujus cinnaberinus''.

European Environment Agency The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides independent information on the environment. Definition The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides ...

.
''Cucujus cinnaberinus''.

Fauna Europaea Fauna Europaea is a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. It serves as a standard taxonomic source for animal taxonomy within the Pan-European Species directories Infr ...

. Cucujidae Beetles of Europe Near threatened animals Near threatened biota of Europe Beetles described in 1763 Taxa named by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Habitats Directive species {{Cucujidae-stub