Derodontidae is a

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

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 its own superfamily, Derodontoidea, sometimes known as the tooth-necked fungus beetles. Beetles of this family are small, between 2 and 6 mm in length, typically with spiny margins on their pronotum (part of the thorax) that give them their name, though the genus ''Laricobius'' lacks these spines. Unusual among beetles, they have two

ocelli A simple eye or ocellus (sometimes called a pigment pit) is a form of eye or an optical arrangement which has a single lens without the sort of elaborate retina that occurs in most vertebrates. These eyes are called "simple" to distinguish the ...

on the top of their heads. They are related to the

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 ...

, which includes the death watch beetles, skin beetles, powder-post beetles and other subgroups. Some species feed on

slime mold Slime mold or slime mould is an informal name given to a polyphyletic assemblage of unrelated eukaryotic organisms in the Stramenopiles, Rhizaria, Discoba, Amoebozoa and Holomycota clades. Most are near-microscopic; those in the Myxogastria ...

s, but 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 ...

e and adults of the genus ''

Laricobius ''Laricobius'' is a genus of beetles in the family Derodontidae, the tooth-necked fungus beetles.

'' are predators of woolly adelgids which attack conifers, and species of this genus are used as biological control agents in the United States for control of

balsam woolly adelgid The balsam woolly adelgid (''Adelges piceae'') is small wingless insect that infests and kills firs. In their native Europe they are a minor parasite on silver fir and Sicilian fir, but they have become a threat especially to balsam fir and ...

and

hemlock woolly adelgid ''Adelges tsugae'', the hemlock woolly adelgid () or HWA, is an insect of the order Hemiptera (true bugs) native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees ('' Tsuga'' spp.; '' Picea'' spp.). In its native range, HWA ...

. There are 42 species in 4 genera and 3 subfamilies. The family includes: *Subfamily Derodontinae **Genus ''

Derodontus ''Derodontus'' is a genus of tooth-necked fungus beetles in the family Derodontidae. There are about eleven described species in ''Derodontus''. Species These eleven species belong to the genus ''Derodontus'': * ''Derodontus esotericus'' Lawrenc ...

'' (11 species) *Subfamily Laricobiinae **Genus ''

Laricobius ''Laricobius'' is a genus of beetles in the family Derodontidae, the tooth-necked fungus beetles.

'' (23 species) **Genus ''

Nothoderodontus ''Nothoderodontus'' is a genus of tooth-necked fungus beetles in the family Derodontidae Derodontidae is a family of beetles, in its own superfamily, Derodontoidea, sometimes known as the tooth-necked fungus beetles. Beetles of this family a ...

'' (6 species) *Subfamily Peltasticinae **Genus ''

Peltastica ''Peltastica'' is a genus of tooth-necked fungus beetles in the family Derodontidae Derodontidae is a family of beetles, in its own superfamily, Derodontoidea, sometimes known as the tooth-necked fungus beetles. Beetles of this family are sm ...

'' (2 species) A fossil genus, '' Juropeltastica,'' is known from the Middle

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

( ~ 163 million years old)

Daohugou Beds The Haifanggou Formation (), also known as the Jiulongshan Formation (), is a fossil-bearing rock deposit located near Daohugou () village of Ningcheng County, in Inner Mongolia, northeastern China. The formation consists of coarse Conglomerate ( ...

of China.

References

External links

Derodontidae
from th
Tree of Life
{{Authority control Beetle families Taxa named by John Lawrence LeConte