Description & Statistics

Histeridae is a moderately large family with ca. 3,510 species known as of 1993. They are found primarily in tropical and subtropical regions. Important morphological characters include a geniculate and capitate antenna, folded into a pronotal groove at repose; legs short, retractile; foretibia fossorial, middle tibia often with long spines; tarsal formula 5-5-5. Males have a hyaline membrane between claws of fore tarsi. The abdomen has 5 visible sternites; elytra do not cover the entire abdomen so that the apical two tergites are visible from above. Elytra are usually striate and punctate.

Histeridae are predaceous on excrement- or carrion-feeding insects, wood-boring beetles, or insects inhabiting decaying plant and animal matter. A few species are found in ant and termite nests. The family is important in the natural control of synanthropic filth breeding Diptera, and the importation of one Hister species into Fiji is credited with a significant reduction in housefly breeding (see section on Medical/Veterinary Entomology).

Further Description.-- Adults and larvae of Histeridae are usually found in association with decaying animal or vegetable matter, which has led to an early assumption that they were principally scavengers. But it is becoming generally recognized that many species are predaceous on various insects (Geden 1984, 1990; Geden & Axtell 1988a; Geden & Stoffolano 1987; Geden et al. 1987a, 1988; Legner 1971a, Legner & Olton 1970). Coleoptera and Diptera larvae constitute the bulk of their prey. A few species live in the open and attack immature stages of Chrysomelidae and Lepidoptera. The larvae of species of a considerable number of genera are limited in their host preferences to the immature stages of wood inhabiting Coleoptera, principally of the Scolytidae and other soft bodied insects found in or beneath bark (Balduf 1935). Struble (1930) recorded adults of Plegaderus nitidus Horn as being predaceous on eggs of Dendroctonus, and those of Platysoma punctigerum Lec. feed on a variety of insects found under bark. The latter species places its eggs along the sides of the bark beetle egg galleries. These hatch in 10-14 days, and larval development is complete in 4-6 weeks, followed by a pupal stage of 10-14 days. There are two generations per year, the overwintering brood of adults ovipositing in May and the second brood emerging from July onwards. The larvae are active searchers and feed on many insects in addition to Dendroctonus larvae (Clausen 1940/1962).

Plaesius javanus Er., in both larval and adult stages, is predaceous on larvae and pupae of the banana borer, Cosmopolites sordida Germ., in Java. It was introduced into Fiji for control of this pest, and satisfactory results were secured in those areas where bananas are grown under uncultivated conditions. Attempts were made to introduce it into Australia, Hawaii, Uganda, Formosa and some West Indian islands, but success was achieved only in Australia (Clausen 1940/1962). The life cycle of this predator is long, taking almost one year, and the adult beetles are very long lived even in the absence of food. Hister bimaculatus L. was introduced into Hawaii from Germany in 1909 for horn fly control.

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

Arnett, R. H. 1947. Sys. Nat. Publ. No. 5: 33-43.

Balduf, W. V. 1935. The Bionomics of Entomophagous Coleoptera. J. S. Swift Co., NY. 220 p.

Geden, C. J. 1984. Population dynamics, spatial distribution, dispersal behavior and life history of the predaceous histerid, Carcinops pumilio (Erichson), with observations of other members of the poultry manure arthropod community. Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of Mass., Amherst. 220 p.

Geden, C. J. 1990. Coleopteran and acarine predators of house fly immatures in poultry production systems, p. 177-200. In: D. A. Rutz & R. S. Patterson (eds.), Biocontrol of Arthropods Affecting Livestock & Poultry. Westview Press, Boulder, CO.

Geden, C. J. & R. C. Axtell. 1988. Predation by Carcinops pumilio (Coleoptera: Histeridae) and Macrocheles muscaedomesticae (Acarina: Macrochelidae) on the housefly (Diptera: Muscidae): Functional response, effects of temperature and availability of alternative prey. Environ. Ent. 17: 739-44.

Geden, C. J., R. F. Stinner & R. C. Axtell. 1988. Predation by predators of the house fly in poultry manure: effects of predator density, feeding history, interspecific interference and field conditions. Environ. Ent. 17: 310-29.

Geden, C. J., J. G. Stoffolano, Jr. & J. S. Elkinton. 1987. Prey-mediated dispersal behavior of Carcinops pumilio (Coleoptera: Histeridae). Environ. Ent. 16: 415-19.

Legner, E. F. 1965a Un complejo de los artrópodos que influyen en los estadios juveniles de Musca domestica L. en Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 5(3-4): 109-15.

Legner, E. F. 1971. Some effects of the ambient arthropod complex on the density and potential parasitization of muscoid Diptera in poultry wastes. J. Econ. Ent. 64: 111-15.

Legner, E. F. & G. S. Olton. 1970. Worldwide survey and comparison of adult predator and scavenger insect populations associated with domestic animal manure where livestock is artificially congregated. Hilgardia 40(9): 225-66.

Legner, E. F., D. J. Greathead & I. Moore. 1981. Equatorial East African predatory and scavenger arthropods in bovine excrement. Environ. Ent. 10: 620-25.

Wenzel, R. L. 1962. Fieldiana 40.