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Darkling Beetle

Insects

Darkling beetles are a large, diverse family of beetles, Tenebrionidae, mostly nocturnal scavengers and detritivores found worldwide, including many species adapted to arid and desert environments. The family includes Tenebrio molitor, whose larvae, known as mealworms, are widely reared commercially as animal feed and increasingly as human food, and several Namib Desert species famous for a fog-basking behavior in which they tilt their body to collect windborne fog droplets on their wing covers and channel the water to their mouth.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Detritivore or Scavenger 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 2
System (Realm)
Marine 2
Relationship to People
Agricultural or Structural Pest 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 3
Identification
Distinguishing Appearance
Their eleven-segmented antennae that may be filiform, moniliform or weakly clubbed 1
Comparison
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 4
Scientific Name
Tenebrionidae 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Coleoptera, Taxa
Source Wikidata: Tenebrionidae

In Biome

Desert, Biomes
Source Darkling beetle - Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Colombia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Denmark

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Norway

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sweden

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

United States

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Darkling beetle - Wikipedia
  • Introduction
    Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae, comprising over 20,000 species in a cosmopolitan distribution
  • Characteristics section
    Their eleven-segmented antennae that may be filiform, moniliform or weakly clubbed
  • Article text
    Many tenebrionids are pests of cereal and flour silos and other storage facilities, including T. castaneum, other Tribolium species such as Tribolium confusum and Tribolium destructor, and Gnatocerus cornutus.
  • In Biome: Desert, Biology and ecology
    Some species live in intensely dry deserts such as the Namib, and have evolved adaptions by which they collect droplets of fog that deposit on their elytra.
View the Source
2. GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
3. Wikidata (taxon extant/extinct status)
Wikimedia Foundation / Wikidata contributorsQ615799, descriptionView the Source
4. UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Insecta
UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 28
Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 28
"cites_listing":"I/II/III/NC","eu_listing":"A/B/C/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":"Arthropoda","class":"Insecta","order":null,"family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"Insectos","language":"ES"},{"name":"Insects","language":"EN"},{"name":"Insectes","language":"FR"},{"name":"昆虫纲","language":"ZH"}],"cites_listings":[]
View the Source
Wikidata: Tenebrionidae
  • Wikidata Q615799, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Child Taxon Of: Coleoptera, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
View the Source
UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat): Species+: Coleoptera
UNEP-WCMC Species+ database (CITES Secretariat)Species+ taxon_concepts, id 56
Quote, Species+ taxon_concepts, id 56
"cites_listing":"II/III/NC","eu_listing":"B/C/NC","higher_taxa":{"kingdom":"Animalia","phylum":"Arthropoda","class":"Insecta","order":"Coleoptera","family":null},"synonyms":[],"common_names":[{"name":"鞘翅目","language":"ZH"}],"cites_listings":[]
View the Source
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