Everything about Staphylinidae totally explained
}}
The
rove beetles are a large
family (
Staphylinidae) of
beetles, primarily distinguished by their short
elytra that leave more than half of their abdomens exposed. With over 46,000 species in thousands of genera, the group is the second largest family of beetles after the Curculionidae (the
true weevils). It is an ancient group, with
fossil rove beetles known from the
Triassic, 200 million years ago.
One well-known species is the
Devil's coach horse beetle.
Find other species on the
List of British rove beetles.
Anatomy
As might be expected for such a large family, there's considerable variation among the species. Sizes range from 1 to 35 mm (1.5 inches), with most in the 2-8 mm range, and the form is generally elongate, with some rove beetles being ovoid in shape. Colors range from yellow to reddish-brown to brown to black. The
antennae are usually 11 segmented and, with moderate clubbing in some genera. The
abdomen may be very long and flexible, and some types of rove beetles superficially resemble
earwigs.
The
Paederus species, such as the
Nairobi fly, contain a potent toxin in their
haemolymph which is highly irritating to the skin. Pederin is highly toxic, more potent than cobra venom.
Ecology
Rove beetles are known from every type of
habitat that beetles occur in, and their diets include just about everything except the living tissues of
higher plants. Most rove beetles are
predators of insects and other kinds of invertebrates, living in forest leaf litter and similar kinds of decaying plant matter. They are also commonly found under stones, and around freshwater margins. Several types are known to live on ocean shores that are submerged at
high tide, several species have adapted to live as
inquilines in
ant and
termite colonies, and some live in symbiotic relationships with
mammals whereby they eat
fleas and other parasites, benefiting the host. A few species, notably those of the genus
Aleochara, are parasitoids of other insects, particularly of certain fly pupae.
Although rove beetles' appetites for other insects would seem to make them obvious candidates for
biological control of pests, and empirically they're believed to be important controls in the wild, experiments with using them have not been notably successful. Greater success is seen with those species (genus
Aleochara) that are parasitoids.
Systematics
Classification of the 46,275 (as of 1998) staphylinid species is ongoing and controversial, with some workers proposing an organization of as many as ten separate families, but the current favored system is one of 31 subfamilies, about 100 tribes (some grouped into supertribes), and about 3,200 genera. About 400 new species are being described each year, and some estimates suggest 3/4 of tropical species are as yet undescribed.
Important Works on Staphylinidae
For the
Palaearctic Fauna the most up to date works are:
Lohse, G.A. (1964) Familie: Staphylinidae. In: Freude, H., Harde, K.W. & Lohse, G.A. (Eds.), Die Käfer Mitteleuropas. Band 4, Staphylinidae I (Micropeplinae bis Tachyporinae). Krefeld: Goecke & Evers Verlag, 264 pp.
Lohse, G.A. (1974) Familie: Staphylinidae. In: Freude, H., Harde, K.W. & Lohse, G.A. (Eds.), Die Käfer Mitteleuropas. Band 5, Staphylinidae II (Hypocyphtinae und Aleocharinae). Pselaphidae. Krefeld: Goecke & Evers Verlag, 381 pp.
Lohse, G.A. (1989) Ergänzungen und Berichtigungen zu Freude-Harde-Lohse "Die Käfer Mitteleuropas" Band 5 (1974), pp. 185-243 In: Lohse, G.A. & Lucht, W.H. (Eds.), Die Käfer Mitteleuropas. 1. Supplementband mit Katalogteil. Krefeld: Goecke & Evers Verlag, pp. 185-243.
Gallery
Image:Ocypus spec.jpg|Ocypus sp.
Image:Tachyporus obtusus01.jpg|Tachyporus obtusus
Image:Staphylinus.olens.jpg|Ocypus olens
Image:Paederus littoralis01.jpg|Paederus littoralis
Further Information
Get more info on 'Staphylinidae'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://rove_beetle.totallyexplained.com">Rove beetle Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
