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NOTE: As of 2014, the California Beetle Project page is no longer updated. The original database and list of California beetles in the menu on the left will remain for the time being, but the information contained within is not necessarily current. SBMNH Entomology Curator Matthew L. Gimmel has divided up the function of the original database into two conceptual halves:

  1. The SBMNH Entomology specimen-level database, including all SBMNH beetle specimens included in the CBP database, which is now available (and ever-growing) through the ecdysis portal at https://serv.biokic.asu.edu/ecdysis/

  2. A literature- (and available specimen-)based checklist.
  3. of the Coleoptera of California, which is being revised and re-compiled by Dr. Gimmel, and, as of January 2017, is about 85% complete.




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Last updated 01/16/2009

 California Beetle Project > Species Pages > Pactopus horni

Classification

Scientific name: Pactopus horni LeConte
    Order Coleoptera
    Superfamily Elateroidea
    Family Throscidae

Images (click to enlarge)

What it looks like: 2.7-6.0 mm in length. Its body is oblong and can range in color from red-orange to dark brown. Its head can be retracted deep into the thorax, and the underside of the body has grooves into which the legs and tarsi can be folded. The elytra have small striae, or shallow punctures, that run lengthwise in distinct rows along the wing coverings. The entire body is densely covered in small, fine hairs.

Where you'll find it: This species is found all along the Pacific coast from British Columbia through southern California.

Natural History: These beetles occur in wet regions that get lots of rainfall. When it is warm, they venture out into the open on vegetation. In the cooler months they are found deep in leaf and needle litter.

This page was written by Maren Farnum, a 2005 California Beetle Project intern.




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