Alphitobius laevigatus, the black fungus beetle, is a species of darkling beetle in the family Tenebrionidae. It is found in Europe and North America.[1][2][3][4]
| Alphitobius laevigatus | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Tenebrionidae |
| Genus: | Alphitobius |
| Species: | A. laevigatus
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| Binomial name | |
| Alphitobius laevigatus (Fabricius, 1781)
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Use
editA. laevigatus is bred in large quantities for the use as feed for captive birds, reptiles, or amphibians. The larvae reach a length of up to 15 millimeters. The larvae are often marketed under the trade name buffalo worms, a name that is also used for the larvae of Alphitobius diaperinus which can lead to confusion.[5] The species can be detected using the PCR method.[5] In difference to A. diaperinus, A. laevigatus is not used or discussed as food for human consumption.[5]
References
edit- ^ "Alphitobius laevigatus Report". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
- ^ "Alphitobius laevigatus". GBIF. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
- ^ "Alphitobius laevigatus species Information". BugGuide.net. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
- ^ Bousquet, Yves; Thomas, Donald B.; Bouchard, Patrice; Smith, Aaron D.; et al. (2018). "Catalogue of Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of North America". ZooKeys (728): 1–455. doi:10.3897/zookeys.728.20602. PMC 5799738. PMID 29416389.
- ^ a b c Aline Marien, Hamza Sedefoglu, Frédéric Debode et al. (9 March 2022): Detection of Alphitobius diaperinus by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction With a Single-Copy Gene Target. In: Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 2022; 9: 718806. doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.718806.
Further reading
edit- Lobl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2013). Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 5: Tenebrionoidea. Apollo Books. ISBN 978-90-04-26090-0.
External links
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Media related to Alphitobius laevigatus at Wikimedia Commons
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