Somaticus

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Tar darkling beetles
Somaticus aeneus.jpg
S. aeneus, subtribe Trachynotina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Tenebrionidae
Subfamily:
Pimeliinae
Tribe:
Sepidiini
Genus:
Somaticus

Hope, 1840[1]

The tar darkling beetles (Somaticus) are an Afrotropical genus of darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae). Adults are omnivorous scavengers, and the larvae, known as false wireworms, feed on plant roots.[2] The larvae of several species are known to damage maize crops.[3] The adults are matte black with longitudinal ridges on the pronotum and elytra, and may be covered in hairs of different colours.[2]

Species include:

  • Solier, 1843
  • (Fahraeus)
  • Haag-Rutenberg, 1873
  • (Peringuey, 1904)
  • Peringuey, 1892
  • Peringuey, 1886
  • Solier, 1843
  • Haag-Rutenberg, 1873

References[]

  1. ^ Hope, F. W. (1840). "Somaticus Hope". The Coleopterist's Manual. Vol. 3. London: J. C. Bridgewater. p. 117.
  2. ^ a b Picker, M.; et al. (2004). Field guide to Insects of South Africa. Cape Town: Struik. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-77007-061-5.
  3. ^ Drinkwater, T.W. (1991). "Morphology of and key to the larvae of six somaticus spp coleoptera tenebrionidae". Journal of African Zoology. 105 (6): 509–536.
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