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NOTE: As of 2014, the California Beetle Project page is no longer updated.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

Classification

Scientific name: Xylophilus constrictus Horn
    Order Coleoptera
    Superfamily Tenebrionoidea
    Family Aderidae

Images (click to enlarge)

What it looks like: 1.5-2.2mm in length. This beetle is light brown to black, with short pubescence all over. The prothorax is narrower than the wing covers, and has deep grooves along its front and back edges. The head is slightly wider, with large eyes and long antennae.

Where you'll find it: This species is found throughout much of southwestern North America, particularly mountainous parts of California.

Natural History: Very little is known about the natural history of this rare species. It has been beaten from pine trees when the pollen producing cones have begun to decompose (late spring to early summer. However, it has also been attracted to blacklight in areas where pines were absent (such as Carrizo Plain).

This page was written by Michael Caterino, project PI.



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