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Perhaps the best known species is Zophobas morio, synonymously known as Zophobas atratus, a beetle whose larvae are robust mealworms sold as food for pets [4] such as lizards. The larvae are known commonly as "superworms". [5] Superworms should not be confused with darkling beetle mealworms sprayed with juvenile hormone. [6]
These beetles are among the brightest bioluminescent insects. [1] With a brightness of around 45 millilamberts, [ 2 ] they are said to be technically bright enough to read by. [ 3 ] They achieve their luminescence by means of two light organs at the posterior corners of the prothorax , and a broad area on the underside of the first abdominal ...
Click beetle larvae, called wireworms, are usually saprophagous, living on dead organisms, but some species are serious agricultural pests, and others are active predators of other insect larvae. Some elaterid species are bioluminescent in both larval and adult form, such as those of the genus Pyrophorus .
Even the soldier beetle’s thorax is similar to that of many firefly species. Adult bugs feed on nectar, pollen, and other smaller insects, while their larvae feed on snails and other small ...
Larvae of the yellow mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) are commonly used as feeder insects for reptiles and amphibians. Other Tenebrio and Tribolium species are also bred as animal food. The red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) is a popular genetics model organism, especially in studies of intragenomic conflict and population ecology.
Tenebrio is the Latin generic name that Carl Linnaeus assigned to some flour beetles in his 10th 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]
The body is usually sub-parallel and slightly flattened, but other shapes have evolved to suit different needs, such as cylindrical for boring larvae, strongly flattened for larvae living under bark, and c-shaped and grub-like for larvae with specialised developmental strategies (e.g. post-triungulin larvae of Rhipiphoridae and Meloidae).
When a click beetle bends its body, the peg snaps into the cavity, causing the beetle's body to straighten so suddenly that it jumps into the air. [ 5 ] Most beetles capable of bioluminescence are in the Elateroidea, in the families Lampyridae (~2000 species), Phengodidae (~200 species), Rhagophthalmidae (100 species) and Elateridae (>100 species).