The tar darkling beetles (Somaticus) are an Afrotropical genus of darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae). Adults are omnivorous scavengers, and the larvae, known as false wireworms, feed on plant roots.[2] The larvae of several species are known to damage maize crops.[3] The adults are matte black with longitudinal ridges on the pronotum and elytra, and may be covered in hairs of different colours.[2]
| Tar darkling beetles | |
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| S. aeneus, subtribe Trachynotina | |
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| Genus: | Somaticus |
Species include:
- Somaticus aeneus Solier, 1843
- Somaticus angulatus (Fahraeus)
- Somaticus cinctus Haag-Rutenberg, 1873
- Somaticus damarinus (Peringuey, 1904)
- Somaticus distinctus Peringuey, 1892
- Somaticus geniculatus
- Somaticus haagi Peringuey, 1886
- Somaticus metropolis
- Somaticus spinosus Solier, 1843
- Somaticus terricola
- Somaticus vestitus
- Somaticus wahlbergi Haag-Rutenberg, 1873
References
edit- ^ Hope, F. W. (1840). "Somaticus Hope". The Coleopterist's Manual. Vol. 3. London: J. C. Bridgewater. p. 117.
- ^ a b Picker, M.; et al. (2004). Field guide to Insects of South Africa. Cape Town: Struik. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-77007-061-5.
- ^ Drinkwater, T.W. (1991). "Morphology of and key to the larvae of six somaticus spp coleoptera tenebrionidae". Journal of African Zoology. 105 (6): 509–536.