fungal spores, with which they inoculate plants to

provide food for themselves or their larvae. Some

such beetles are vectors of fungal diseases of trees.

Oviposition: laying eggs. Female beetles have an

internal ovipositor (egg-laying tube).

Palearctic region: biogeographic region that covers

Europe; western, central, and northern Asia; and

northern Africa.

Parasitoid: organism that develops on or in another

organism, but unlike a true parasite, it kills the host

during development.

Parthenogenesis: nonsexual reproduction.

Parthenogenetic insects such as vine weevils (genus

Otiorhynchus) lay eggs without needing a male. These

eggs hatch into genetic clones of their mother.

Pectinate (of antennae): developed into a series of

long structures like the teeth of a comb.

Pedogenetic: insect able to reproduce while still in

the larval stage, such as Micromalthus (Archostemata).

Phoretic: obtaining transport (but not necessarily

nutrition) by attaching to another organism (such as

phoretic mites on beetles).

Physogastric (of some female beetles): with the

abdomen able to distend greatly, especially when

carrying a large number of eggs.

Phytophagous: eating leaves or living plant tissue,

herbivorous.

Plastron: series of tiny setae that maintain a

permanent air bubble, allowing an insect to breathe

under water without having to renew its air supply

at the surface.

Polyphagous: feeding on many different foods

(usually in beetles on many different genera or

species of plants).

Pronotum: upper part of the prothorax; in an adult

beetle the only part of the thorax visible from above

between the head and elytra. Often simply called

“the thorax,” but this is inaccurate.

Prosternum: lower part of the prothorax, to which

the front legs are attached.

Quinones: complex organic compounds, used by

some beetles for defense.

Relict/Relictual: left behind, or appearing as if left

behind, from a previous time. Seemingly primitive in

form or appearance.

Rostrum: extension of an insect’s head in front of the

eyes and with the mouthparts at the end. An example

is the “beak” or “snout” of weevils (Curculionoidea).

Saprophagous: feeding on dead or decaying matter.

Scutellum: triangular or shield-shaped piece of the

thorax visible from above in some adult beetles, behind

the pronotum and between the bases of the elytra.

Setae (sing. seta): bristles, or hairs, on an insect’s

exoskeleton.

Sister Group: in phylogenetics, the closest

recognized equivalent-rank relative to a given

organism (for example, Sister Species, Sister Genus).

Spiracles: the breathing holes in the exoskeleton

of an insect.

Structural color: color that is formed not by

pigment but by scattering of light by thousands or

millions of microscopic prisms. Found in some beetles,

butterfly wings, for example.

Subcortical: living underneath the bark of trees.

Synanthropic: living with, or associated with,

humans or human-modified areas.

Tarsi: an insect’s “foot,” the last part of the leg,

usually divided into three to five segments called

“tarsomeres.” The claw-bearing segment is referred

to as the “pretarsus.”

Taxonomy: the science of classification of living

organisms.

Temperate zones: regions of the world between the

poles and the tropics, usually marked by four distinct

and clearly recognizable seasons.

Tergites: segments of the abdomen.

Troglophile: organism associated with and able to

live its entire life in a cave.

Xerophilous: inhabiting and able to tolerate dry or

very dry environments.

Xerophytic (of plants): growing in very dry habitats,

usually with adaptations to conserve water, such as

small leaves and aromatic chemical oils.