Tenebrio is the Latingeneric name thatCarl Linnaeus assigned to someflour beetles in his10th edition of Systema Naturae 1758–59.[1] The name means "lover of darkness";[2] the English language term 'darkling' means "characterised by darkness or obscurity";[3] see also English 'tenebrous', figuratively "obscure, gloomy."[4]
Many Tenebrionidae species inhabit dark places; ingenera such asStenocara andOnymacris, they are active by day and inactive at night.
The family covers a varied range of forms, such that classification presents great difficulties. These eleven subfamilies were listed in the 2021 review by Bouchard, Bousquet,et al., updating a similar catalog from 2005.[5][6]
Ongoing phylogenetic studies are showing that some taxonomic changes are needed. For instance the tribal classification of tribePedinini has recently been altered.[7]
The misspelling "Terebrionidae" occurs frequently enough to be easily overlooked.[8][9] The error appears to have no particular significance, but to be the product of misreadings, mis-scans and mis-typings.
Tenebrionid beetles occupyecological niches in mainly deserts and forests as plant scavengers. Most species are generalisticomnivores, and feed on decaying leaves, rotting wood, fresh plant matter, dead insects, and fungi as larvae and adults.[10] Several genera, includingBolitotherus, are specializedfungivores which feed onpolypores. Many of the larger species are flightless, and those that are capable, such asT. molitor, often rarely do so.[11][12][13]
Thelarvae, known asmealworms or false wireworms, are usuallyfossorial, heavilysclerotized and nocturnal. They may possibly be an important resource for certaininvertebrates and smallmammals. Adults of many species have chemical defenses and are relatively protected against predators.[12] Adults of most species, except grain pests, have slow metabolisms, and live long lives compared to other insects, ranging from approximately six months to two years.
Some species live in intensely dry deserts such as theNamib, and have evolved adaptions by which they collect droplets of fog that deposit on theirelytra. As the droplets accumulate the water drains down the beetles' backs to their mouthparts, where they swallow it.[14]
Humans spread some species such that they have become cosmopolitan, such asTribolium castaneum, the red flour beetle, which was spread through grain products.
In southwestern North America, species of the genusEleodes (particularlyE. obscurus) are well known as "pinacate beetles" or "desert stink beetles".
Several genera, such asStenocara andOnymacris, are of interest in ecological studies of arid conditions and their associated adaptations.
Ulomoides dermestoides, known as "chinese weevil", "peanut beetle", "cancer beetle", or "asthma beetle", is eaten in Argentina where it is thought to be a treatment for cancer, asthma, and other illnesses.
Luprops tristis is found in India, where it is known as the Mupli beetle. It is notorious for a defensive secretion that causes skin burns. Since they congregate in large numbers, they can easily become a pest.
^Kamiński, M.J.; Kanda, K.; Lumen, R.; Smith, A.D.; Iwan, D. (2019). "Molecular phylogeny of Pedinini (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) and its implications for higher-level classification".Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.185 (1):77–97.doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly033.
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