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CLOWN OR HISTER BEETLES

HISTERIDAE

HISTERIDAE—Clown or Hister Beetles

family

Histeridae

known species

4,300

distribution

Worldwide except Antarctica

habitat

Found in decaying matter such as carrion,

compost, and rotting seaweed, in the nests

of other animals, including mammals, birds,

ants, and termites, in leaf litter or under bark

size

1–20 mm

diet

Adults and larvae are predators. Most

species feed on the larvae of other insects

notes

The origins of the scientific name Histeridae

and the English name clown beetle are both

mysterious. A possible theory is that Carolus

Linnaeus based the name on the Latin Histrio,

an actor, and one writer has suggested that

T

he Histeridae is a medium-sized family of

generally glossy black or shiny brown beetles,

which are predators of larvae of other insects in a

wide range of substrates. The most familiar species

are associated with dung and carrion, where adults

and larvae feed mainly on fly maggots. A number

of species live in bird nests, or the burrows and

dens of mammals, where they feed on flea larvae

and other parasites, providing a useful service to

their host. The same is not true of species living in

ant and termite nests, which can eat the hosts

themselves, or in the case of the ants, their larvae.

Other species are very flattened and live under

bark, preying on the larvae of other subcortical

insects, while members of yet another group are

cylindrical and follow wood-boring beetles into

their burrows.

Despite the wide variation in shape, histerids

have a distinct and instantly recognizable body

plan, with angled antennae, forward-pointing

mandibles, and the wing-cases or elytra shortened

to reveal the last two segments of the abdomen,

right | Sternocoelis

A myrmecophilous

histerid from Morocco

is tolerated by its ant

host, although it eats

their larvae.