''Sphaerites'' 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, the only genus in the family Sphaeritidae, sometimes called the false clown beetles. There are five known species, which are widespread in temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere, found in forested or upland areas.
[Newton, Alfred F.. "Sphaeritidae Shuckard, 1839: Coleoptera, Beetles". ''Handbook of Zoology Online'', edited by Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016. ]
Adults range in length from 4.5–7 mm, with oval bodies, black but with a slight bluish-green sheen.
The life histories are poorly known, but they are generally found around decaying matter and fungi. ''S. glabratus'' is associated with
conifer
Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...
forests in northern Europe, and seems especially attracted to sap flows from trees, feeding on the sap and then mating, with the eggs laid in sap-soaked nearby soil. The larvae have a short generation span, developing into adults within a month.
It is a member of
Histeroidea
Histeroidea is a Taxonomic rank, superfamily of beetles in the infraorder Staphyliniformia.
Characteristics
Characteristic to Histeroidea are an accessory posterior ridge (locking device) behind the hind margin and presence of Comstock-Needham s ...
, making it closely related to the true
clown beetles.
Species
These four species belong to the genus ''Sphaerites'':
* ''
Sphaerites dimidiatus''
Jurecek, 1934 i c g
* ''
Sphaerites glabratus''
(Fabricius, 1792) i c g
* ''
Sphaerites nitidus''
Löbl, 1996 i c g
* ''
Sphaerites opacus''
Löbl & Háva, 2002
* ''
Sphaerites politus''
Mannerheim, 1846 i c g b
Data sources: i = ITIS,[ c = Catalogue of Life,][ g = GBIF,][ b = Bugguide.net]
References
*
External links
*
*
Histeroidea
Staphyliniformia genera
Taxa named by Caspar Erasmus Duftschmid
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