File: <elaterid.htm>

COLEOPTERA, Elateridae

The family is largely phytophagous, and the larvae of most species are major crop pests. However, a considerable number of genera have species that are predaceous on insects rather than being phytophagous. Because the larvae are largely soil inhabiting, they feed on such other soft-bodied insects as they find. Thus, scarabaeid grubs are among the most frequent prey. Monocrepidius pallipes Esch. is an important natural enemy of white grubs in Fiji and has not been found to attack sugarcane, while M. exsul Sharp preys on grubs but also is destructive to young sugarcane in the pacific Islands (Williams 1931). Pyrophorus luminosus Ill. is the "cucubano" of the West Indies, which serves as a natural control of various cane grubs of the family Scarabaeidae. It has been imported to several tropical areas for biological control of scarabs. Several species occur in decaying wood where they prey on larvae of various xylophagous insects (Clausen 1940/62).

References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [ Additional references may be found at: MELVYL Library ]