Cleridae

Common name
Chequered beetles
Number of species
15
Size Range
6-16mm
Tarsal formula
4-4-4
5-5-5
Lobed

Images:

  • Korynetes caeruleus
  • Necrobia ruficollis
  • Necrobia rufipes
  • Necrobia violacea
  • Opilo mollis
  • Thanasimus femoralis
  • Thanasimus formicarius
  • Tilloidea unifasciata
  • Tillus elongatus
  • Trichodes alvearius
  • Trichodes apiarius
Description

This small family includes 14 species recorded from Britain, all of which are local, rare, or probably extinct here.  Two species Thaneroclerus buqueti (Lefebvre) and Paratillus carus (Newman) are likely to accidentally-imported transient species, and four species, Tilloidea unifasciatus (Fabricius), Trichodes alvearius (Fabricius), T. apiarus (L.) and Tarsostenus univittatus (Rossi) have not been seen since the 19th century and are likely to be extinct.

Medium-sized (6-16mm) beetles and often brightly coloured, attractive, species, they are associated with stored products, carrion and trees.  Necrobia spp. scavenge dead flies and fly larvae while several other species (particularly Tillus elongatus (L.), Korynetes caeruleus (De Geer) and Opilio mollis (L.)) are predatory on Anobiidae.