The sap beetles, also known as Nitidulidae, are a family of beetles.
They are small (2–6 mm) ovoid, usually dull-coloured beetles, with knobbed antennae. Some have red or yellow spots or bands. They feed mainly on decaying vegetable matter, over-ripe fruit, and sap. Some sap beetle species coexist with fungi species and live in habitats of coniferous trees. These fungi-dependent beetles are found in all across Europe and Siberia and are the biggest nitidulid species known in those areas.Audisio, P., Cline, A., Mancini, E., Trizzino, M., Clayhills, T., Cline, A., & Sabatelli, S. (2016). Other species like the Australian Chychramptodes murrayi are known to feed on scale insects. There are a few pest species, like the strawberry sap beetle that infest crops in Brazil between the months of August and February.Moliterno, A., Martins, C., Szczerbowski, D., Zawadneak, M., & Zarbin, P. (2017). The Male Produced Aggregation Pheromone of a Strawberry Sap Beetle, Lobiopa insularis (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). Journal Of Chemical Ecology, 43(6), 550-556. doi: 10.1007/s10886-017-0851-y
Common types Some common sap beetles include: the picnic beetle, Glischrochilus quadrisignatus the dusky sap beetle, Carpophilus lugubris the strawberry sap beetle, Stelidota geminata the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida The oldest unambiguous fossils of the family date to the Early Cretaceous, belonging to the genus Crepuraea from the Aptian aged Zaza Formation of Russia.
Classification
The family includes 10 subfamilies, as well as some genera of uncertain placement: Subfamily Amphicrossinae Kirejtshuk, 1986 Subfamily Calonecrinae Kirejtshuk, 1982 Subfamily Carpophilinae Erichson, 1842 Subfamily Cillaeinae Kirejtshuk & Audisio, 1986 Subfamily Cryptarchinae Thomson, 1859 Subfamily Epuraeinae Kirejtshuk, 1986 Subfamily Maynipeplinae Kirejtshuk, 1998 Subfamily Meligethinae Thomson, 1859 Subfamily Nitidulinae Latreille, 1802 Subfamily Prometopinae incertae sedis Apetinus Conotelus Cyrtostolus Eunitidula Eupetinus Gonioryctus Goniothorax Haptoncus Kateretes Nesapterus Nesopetinus Notopeplus Orthostolus Stelidota Urophorus
The former sap beetle subfamily Cybocephalinae is nowadays usually considered a distinct family Cybocephalidae.
References
External links
sap beetles of Florida on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site Keys for the identification of British Nitidulidae (the pollen beetles)