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Beetles of Zihuatanejo

ORDER COLEOPTERA

Anthribidae Fungus Weevils
Anthribidae (Family)

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Hexapods (Subphylum Hexapoda)

-Insects (Class Insecta)

-Winged and Once-winged Insects (Subclass Pterygota)

-Beetles (Order Coleoptera​​)

-​Water, Rove, Scarab, Long-horned, Leaf, and Snout Beetles (Suborder Polyphaga)

-​Cucujiform Beetles (Infraorder Cucujiformia)

-Snout and Bark Beetles (Superfamily Curculionoidea)

-​True Weevils (Family Curculionidae)

-Fungus Weevils (Family Anthribidae)


The Anthribidae family, commonly known as fungus weevils or anthribid weevils, generally lack the long, thin rostrum seen in other weevils and instead have a shorter, often broader snout. Many anthribid weevils feed on fungi, particularly spores, hyphae, or fruiting bodies of various fungi that grow on wood. Some species feed on pollen or plant material, but fungal feeding is predominant in this family.

Diet

  • Larvae: Feed primarily on fungi, especially fungal fruiting bodies and fungal tissues growing in dead wood, decaying branches, seeds, and bark. Some species also develop in dead plant material colonized by fungi.

  • Adults: Feed on fungi, fungal spores, pollen, decaying plant material, and occasionally tree sap.

Range

  • The family Anthribidae is distributed worldwide, with its greatest diversity in tropical and subtropical regions.

  • Numerous genera and species occur throughout Mexico, including the Pacific coast of Guerrero and the Zihuatanejo region.

  • Members of the family inhabit forests from sea level to mountainous regions.

Habitat

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, tropical rainforests, pine-oak forests, cloud forests, woodland edges, secondary forests, and mangroves.

  • Most species are found on dead logs, decaying branches, fungi, beneath loose bark, and rotting wood, where fungal growth is abundant.

  • Adults are occasionally encountered on flowers or tree trunks.

Size

  • Adult length: 2–20 mm (0.08–0.8 in), depending on the species.

  • Body usually oval to elongate, often mottled with brown, grey, black, or cream scales that provide excellent camouflage.

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