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NOTE: As of 2014, the California Beetle Project page is no longer updated.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 > Sepedophilus castaneus

Classification

Scientific name: Sepedophilus castaneus (Horn)
    Order Coleoptera
    Superfamily Staphylinoidea
    Family Staphylinidae

Images (click to enlarge)

What it looks like: 1.9-2.3 mm in length. It's body is wide near the head and narrow at the tip of the abdomen. It is yellowish-brown with very short elytra and clubbed antennae.

Where you'll find it: These beetles are a common western species ranging from Washington to California. They can be found along the coast, in the Sierras, and in the Central Valley.

Natural History: They appear under pine and oak bark and rotting forest detritus and have even been found in wood rats' nests.

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




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