''Tarsostenus'' is a genus of

checkered beetle Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences. Cleridae have many niches and fee ...

s in the family

Cleridae Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences. Cleridae have many Ecological nich ...

. It includes the

cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Internationalism * World citizen, one who eschews traditional geopolitical divisions derived from national citizenship * Cosmopolitanism, the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community * Cosmopolitan ...

species ''T. univittatus''.

Description

''Tarsostenus'' are oblong beetles 3.5–8.0 mm long and 1.0–2.0 mm wide. They can be recognised by a distinctly oblong

pronotum The prothorax is the foremost of the three segments in the thorax of an insect, and bears the first pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the pronotum (dorsal), the prosternum (ventral), and the propleuron (lateral) on e ...

with glabrous streaks on the disc and without lateral tubercles, the elytral disc with 10 rows of punctations, and the unguis lacking a denticle. Several species within the genus have a transverse white band halfway along the elytra.

Ecology

Based on those species whose ecology is known, ''Tarsostenus'' are predators on wood-boring beetles. For example, ''T. univittatus'' preys on bostrichids ( ''Lyctus'', '' Sinoxylon'', '' Xylobiops'' and '' Trogoxylon'') and anobiines. It has been found in borer-infested lumber and wooden furniture from a range of different trees: ash,

hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''. Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...

persimmon The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...

white oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

, ''Vahellia tortilis'' (=''Acacia tortilis'') ''Hayne raddiana,''

pecan The pecan ( , , ; ''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the Southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed primarily in the U.S. states of Georgia ( ...

, ''

Cercis siliquastrum ''Cercis siliquastrum'', commonly known as the Judas tree or Judas-tree, is a small deciduous species of redbud in the flowering plant family Fabaceae which is noted for its prolific display of deep pink flowers in spring. It is native to South ...

'', ''

Corymbia maculata ''Corymbia maculata'', commonly known as spotted gum, is a species of medium-sized to tall tree that is Endemism, endemic to eastern Australia. It has smooth, mottled bark, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds usually in groups of t ...

'' (=''Eucalyptus maculata''), ''

Ficus retusa ''Ficus retusa'' is a species of evergreen woody plant in the fig genus, native to the Malay Archipelago and Malesia floristic region. The species name has been widely mis-applied to '' Ficus microcarpa''. Description ''Ficus retusa'' is a rapi ...

'', ''Schinus terebinthifolius'' and ''Triplochiton sclerodendron''. ''Tarsostenus hilaris'' has been collected from ''

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

'' "laden with various species of cerambycids". The

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

of ''T. kanak'' was collected by beating unspecified vegetation in a rainforest.

Species

Listed below are the species of ''Tarsostenus'', along with their distributions: * ''Tarsostenus antehelvis'' Optiz, 2016 -

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

* ''Tarsostenus'' ''bicolor'' Optiz, 2016 -

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

* ''Tarsostenus hilaris'' (Westwood, 1849) -

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

* ''Tarsostenus'' ''kanak'' Optiz, 2016 - New Caledonia * ''Tarsostenus tricolor'' (Heller, 1916) - New Caledonia * ''Tarsostenus univittatus'' Rossi, 1972 - Cosmopolitan Tarsostenus univittatus-Curtis

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4050743 Cleridae Articles created by Qbugbot

Description

Ecology

Species

References

Further reading

External links