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Laemophloeidae
Laemophloeus germaini
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Infraorder:	Cucujiformia
Superfamily:	Cucujoidea
Family:	Laemophloeidae Ganglbauer, 1899

Laemophloeidae, lined flat bark beetles, is a beetle family in the superfamily Cucujoidea characterized by predominantly dorso-ventrally compressed bodies, head and pronotal discs bordered by ridges or grooves, and inverted male genitalia. Size range of adults is 1–5 mm (0.04–0.2 in) in length. Currently, it contains 40 genera and about 450 species, and is represented on all continents except Antarctica; species richness is greatest in the tropics.

Classicification

Historically, Laemophloeidae was treated as a subfamily of Cucujidae, but starting in the middle of the 20th century, most of what had been treated as subfamilies of the Cucujidae were considered to be families.

Genera

• Acompsophloeus Thomas, 2010
• Blubos Lefkovitch, 1962
• Brontolaemus Sharp, 1885
• Carinophloeus Lefkovitch, 1961
• Caulonomus Wollaston, 1862
• Charaphloeus Casey, 1916
• Cryptolestes Ganglbauer, 1899
• Cucujinus Arrow, 1920
• Deinophloeus Sharp, 1899
• Dysmerus Casey, 1884
• Gannes Lefkovitch, 1962
• Heterojinus Sengupta & Mukhopadhyay, 1978
• Laemophloeus Laporte de Castelnau, 1840
• Lathropus Erichson, 1845
• Lepidophloeus Thomas, 1984
• Leptophloeus Casey, 1916
• Magnoleptus Lefkovitch, 1962
• Mariolaemus Lefkovitch, 1962
• Mestolaemus Lefkovitch, 1962
• Metaxyphloeus Thomas, 1984
• Microbrontes Reitter, 1874
• Microlaemus Lefkovich, 1962
• Narthecius J.LeConte, 1861
• Nipponophloeus Sasaji, 1983
• Notolaemus Lefkovitch, 1959
• Odontophloeus Thomas, 1984
• Parandrita J.LeConte & Horn, 1880
• Paraphloeolaemus Thomas, 2018
• Passandrophloeus Kessel, 1921
• Phloeipsius Casey, 1916
• Phloeolaemus Casey, 1916
• Placonotus MacLeay, 1871
• Planolestes Lefkovitch, 1958
• Pseudophloeus Yablokov-Khnzoryan, 1977
• Rhabdophloeus Sharp, 1899
• Rhinolaemus Steel, 1954
• Rhinomalus Gemm, 1870
• Rhinophloeus Sharp, 1899
• Sinuatophloeus Kessel, 1921
• Xylolestes Lefkovitch, 1962
• Xylophloeus Lefkovitch, 1962

Habitat and behaviour

Most laemophloeids, adults and larvae, are found under bark of dead trees, where they apparently are primarily fungivores, although some genera with adults having subcylindrical bodies (e.g., Leptophloeus, Dysmerus) occur in the galleries of bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae), upon which they may feed. A few genera, but most particularly Cryptolestes, contain some species that are pests of stored grain products. The most important of these are Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens), Cryptolestes pusillus (Schönherr), and Cryptolestes turcicus (Grouvelle).

Characteristics

Several genera exhibit unusual modifications to male antennae (especially Cryptolestes, Dysmerus, and Microbrontes), with the scape expanded into hook-like or blade-like structures. Several other genera (Rhinomalus, Rhinophloeus, and Metaxyphloeus) related to Laemophloeus are atypical in that the adults are rostrate to varying degrees. Photographs of most world genera are available at the Florida State Collection of Arthropod website, with most North American species pictured.

Jumping larvae

A PLOS ONE article by Bergquist et al. (2022) reported that when the Laemophloeidae larvae are in the open, they will straighten themselves out and jump curling up into a ball in the process and can bounce upon impact when they are curled up.

Gallery

• Odontophloeus sp.
• Phloeolaemus hoplites.
• Dysmerus symphilus.
• Metaxyphloeus germaini.
• Lepidophloeus exquisitus.

References

1. Thomas MC (2002). "Family 83. Laemophloeidae Ganglbauer 1899.". In Arnett Jr R, Thomas MC, Skelley PE, Frank JH (eds.). American Beetles. Volume 2: Polyphaga: Scarabaeoidea through Curculionoidea. Boca Raton: CRC Press. pp. 331–334. xiv + 861pp.
2. Thomas MC, Leschen RA (2010). "Laemophloeidae, Ganglbauer, 1899.". In Leschen RA, Beutel RG, Lawrence JF (eds.). Handbook of Zoology. Coleoptera, Beetles. Volume 2: Morphology and Systematics (Elateroidea, Bostrichiformia, Cucujiformia partim). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 376–380.
3. "Laemophloeidae Species List". Joel Hallan’s Biology Catalog. Texas A&M University. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
4. Crowson RA (1955). The natural classification of the families of Coleoptera. London: Nathaniel Lloyd. p. 187.
5. Lawrence JF (December 1977). "Coleoptera associated with an Hypoxylon species (Ascomycetes: Xylariaceae) on oak". The Coleopterists' Bulletin. 31 (4): 309–312. JSTOR 3999883.
6. Thomas MC (1993). "The flat bark beetles of Florida (Laemophloeidae, Passandridae, Silvanidae).". Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas. Vol. 15. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry. pp. i-viii and 1–93.
7. Halstead DG (June 1993). "Keys for the identification of beetles associated with stored products—II. Laemophloeidae, Passandridae and Silvanidae". Journal of Stored Products Research. 29 (2): 99–197. doi:10.1016/0022-474X(93)90030-8.
8. Lefkovitch LP (July 1958). "Unusual antennal characters in some Laemophloeinae (Coleoptera: Cucujidae) and their taxonomic importance". Proceedings of the Royal Entomological Society of London. Series B, Taxonomy. 27 (5–6). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.: 93–100. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1958.tb00419.x.
9. Thomas MC (May 2009). "A review of the genus Dysmerus Casey (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae)". Insecta Mundi. 74: 1–30.
10. Thomas MC (March 1984). "A new Neotropical genus and species of rostrate Laemophloeinae (Coleoptera: Cucujidae) with discussion of the systematic position of the subfamily". The Coleopterists' Bulletin. 38 (1): 67–83. JSTOR 4008144.
11. Thomas MC. "Photographic Atlas of Laemophloeid Genera". Florida State Collection of Arthropods. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
12. Thomas MC. "Laemophloeidae of Florida". Florida State Collection of Arthropods. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
13. Bergquist C, Flatow I. "These Beetles Go Boing". Science Friday. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
14. Bertone MA, Gibson JC, Seago AE, Yoshida T, Smith AA (2022-01-19). "A novel power-amplified jumping behavior in larval beetles (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae)". PLOS ONE. 17 (1): e0256509. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256509. PMC 8769368. PMID 35045081.

• Laemophloeidae
• Cucujoidea families