Passalidae 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 known variously as "bessbugs", "bess beetles", "betsy beetles", "betsy bugs", or "horned passalus beetles". Nearly all of the 500-odd species are tropical; species found in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

are notable for their size, ranging from 20 to 43 mm, for having a single "horn" on the head, and for a form of

social behavior Social behavior is behavior among two or more organisms within the same species, it encompasses any behavior in which one member affects another. Social behavior can be seen as similar to an exchange of goods, with the expectation that when you ...

unusual among beetles. Bodies are elongate-cylindrical and black overall; ventral surfaces may be covered with yellow

setae In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae ...

. The head is narrower than the thorax, with antennae consisting of 10 antennomeres with a three-segment club. The elytra are elongate with parallel sides, and heavily striated. They are quasisocial (common nest + brood caring) beetles that live in groups within rotting logs or stumps. The beetles will excavate tunnel systems within rotting wood where the females then lay their eggs. They care for their young by preparing food for them and helping 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 construct the pupal case. Both adults and larvae must consume adult feces which have been further digested by microflora for a time; an arrangement that might be described as a sort of external

rumen The rumen, also known as a paunch, is the largest stomach compartment in ruminants. The rumen and the reticulum make up the reticulorumen in ruminant animals. The diverse microbial communities in the rumen allows it to serve as the primary si ...

. They are also able to produce fourteen acoustical signals, more than many

vertebrate Vertebrates () are animals with a vertebral column (backbone or spine), and a cranium, or skull. The vertebral column surrounds and protects the spinal cord, while the cranium protects the brain. The vertebrates make up the subphylum Vertebra ...

s. Adults produce the sounds by rubbing the upper surface of the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the gut, belly, tummy, midriff, tucky, or stomach) is the front part of the torso between the thorax (chest) and pelvis in humans and in other vertebrates. The area occupied by the abdomen is called the abdominal ...

against the hind wings. The larvae produce the sounds by rubbing the third leg against a striated area on the coxa of the second leg. While the

taxonomy image:Hierarchical clustering diagram.png, 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme o ...

Nearctic The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America ...

species is well-known (four species in the US, and 90 in Mexico), bess beetles in other parts of the world need further study. Of North American species, '' Odontotaenius disjunctus'' (''synonym: Popilius disjunctus'') is the familiar bessbug found throughout the eastern US and Canada, while '' O. floridanus'' has only been found in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

on sand hills that used to be islands when Florida was flooded thousands of years ago. ''Ptichopus angulatus'' was recently discovered near the border of

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Its habitat is south to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

and it is commonly associated with the detritus chambers of leafcutter ant nests (''Atta'' spp.). Two other species were reported from Arizona at the beginning of the 20th century, but have not been seen there since that time; they may have been brought from Mexico by a train hauling firewood. The oldest records of the family go back to the Cretaceous, with the genus '' Ceracyclus'' known from two species found in the

Cenomanian The Cenomanian is, in the International Commission on Stratigraphy's (ICS) geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age (geology), age of the Late Cretaceous epoch (geology), Epoch or the lowest stage (stratigraphy), stage of the Upper Cretace ...

aged

Burmese amber Burmese amber, also known as Burmite or Kachin amber, is amber from the Hukawng Valley in northern Myanmar. The amber is dated to around 100 million years ago, during the latest Albian to earliest Cenomanian ages of the mid-Cretaceous period. Th ...

; the genus appears to be closely related to the living genus '' Cylindrocaulus''. The family has been suggested to have a close relationship with the extinct family Passalopalpidae.

Genera

*'' – – Aponelides – – – – Cacoius – Ceracupes – – Cicernonius – – Cylindrocaulus – Didimus – Epishenus – Episphenoides – Eumelosomus – Flaminius – – Heliscus – Hincksius – – – – Malagasulus – Mastochilus – Neleides – Neleuops – Nelues –

Ninus Ninus (), according to Greek historians writing in the Hellenistic period and later, was the founder of Nineveh (also called Νίνου πόλις "city of Ninus" in Greek), ancient capital of Assyria. The figure or figures with which he correspon ...

– Odontotaenius – – Oileus – Ophrygonius – Orgyes – Paratiberioides – Passalus – Passipassalus – – – Pelops – Pentalobus – – Petrejus – Pharochilus – Phoroneus – Plesthenus – Pleurarius – Popilius – Proculejus – – Protomocoelus – – – Ptichopus – – Rhodocanthopus – – – –

Spurius Spurius is a small genus of passalid beetles from Mesoamerica Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area that begins in the southern part of North America and extends to the Pacific coast of Central America, thus comprising the l ...

– – – Tiberioides – Trichopleurus – Undulifer –

Verres Gaius Verres ( 114 – 43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence advo ...

– – Vindex – – ''

Selected species

*Genus '' Aceraius'' :'' Aceraius grandis'' *Genus '' Aulacocyclus'' :'' Aulacocyclus edentulus'' *Genus '' Ceracupes'' :'' Ceracupes arrowi'' *Genus '' Chondrocephalus'' :'' Chondrocephalus debilis'' :'' Chondrocephalus granulifrons'' *Genus '' Cylindrocaulus'' :'' Cylindrocaulus patalis'' *Genus '' Didimus'' :'' Didimus laevis'' :'' Didimus parastictus'' *Genus '' Heliscus'' :'' Heliscus tropicus'' *Genus '' Leptaulax'' :'' Leptaulax bicolor'' *Genus '' Odontotaenius'' :'' Odontotaenius disjunctus'' (patent-leather beetle) :'' Odontotaenius floridanus'' :'' Odontotaenius striatopunctatus'' *Genus '' Ogyges'' :'' Ogyges laevior'' *Genus '' Oileus'' :'' Oileus rimator'' *Genus '' Passalus'' :'' Passalus affinis'' :'' Passalus caelatus'' :'' Passalus elfriedae'' :'' Passalus inops'' :'' Passalus interruptus'' :'' Passalus interstitialis'' :'' Passalus jansoni'' :'' Passalus latifrons'' :'' Passalus pugionifer'' :'' Passalus punctatostriatus'' :'' Passalus punctiger'' :'' Passalus spiniger'' :'' Passalus unicornis'' *Genus '' Paxillus'' :'' Paxillus leachi'' :'' Paxillus pentataphylloides'' *Genus '' Pentalobus'' :'' Pentalobus barbatus'' *Genus '' Petrejoides'' :'' Petrejoides orizabae'' *Genus '' Popilius'' :'' Popilius eclipticus'' *Genus '' Proculus'' :'' Proculus burmeisteri'' :'' Proculus mniszechi'' *Genus '' Ptichopus'' :'' Ptichopus angulatus'' *Genus '' Publius'' :'' Publius agassizi'' *Genus '' Spasalus'' :'' Spasalus crenatus'' *Genus ''

'' :'' Spurius bicornis'' *Genus ''

'' :'' Verres corticicola'' :'' Verres hageni'' *Genus '' Veturius'' :'' Veturius transversus''

Footnotes

References

* Jack C. Schuster, "Passalidae", in Ross H. Arnett Jr. and Michael C. Thomas, '' American Beetles'' (CRC Press, 2002), vol. 2 * BugGuid
Passalidae

External links

on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
Sound recording of Passalidae at BioAcoustica
{{Authority control Beetle families

Genera

Selected species

See also

Footnotes

References

External links