Other families (with the number of species

given in brackets) are: Chaetosomatidae (12),

Thanerocleridae (30), Mauroniscidae (26),

Prionoceridae (160), Byturidae (24),

and Biphyllidae (200). The last two,

Byturidae (fruitworm beetles) and

Biphyllidae (false skin beetles), were

for many years in the superfamily

Cucujoidea, but recent DNA work

has revealed that they actually

belong in Cleroidea.

Byturids, as their English name

suggests, develop as larvae within fruits

such as raspberries and blackberries, and

can be a minor pest. The adults feed on

flowers, often clustering on yellow buttercups.

Biphyllidae are fungus beetles that develop under

bark or on fungal fruiting bodies.

and branches of oak, and the adults are

most active during the winter months, which

is unusual among beetles. Taxonomically

isolated, not closely related to other beetles,

the famous coleopterist Roy Crowson once

described this as “the most interesting beetle

species in Britain”

above | Tenebroides mauritanicus

(Trogossitidae) Called “the Cadelle,”

originally a French name thought to be

derived (oddly) from the Latin for a puppy.

right | Peltis grossa (Trogossitidae) This

large European beetle lives in and around

bracket fungi on trees, especially in

northern forests.

opposite | Idgia (Prionoceridae)

From Southeast Asia, this beetle is

a typical member of the small family

Prionoceridae, which are diverse in

Asian forests.