Diet

• Adults: Predatory, feeding primarily on small insects, mites, springtails, aphids and other tiny arthropods.

• Larvae: Also predatory, hunting small invertebrates in moist soil, leaf litter and vegetation.

• Many Stenus species specialize on very small, soft-bodied prey that they can capture with their unusual extendable mouthparts.

Range

• Stenus is one of the world's largest genera of rove beetles (Staphylinidae), with thousands of described species occurring on most continents.

• Around Zihuatanejo, Stenus is occasional to uncommon. The genus is more strongly associated with moist habitats than the dry tropical vegetation that dominates much of the region.

• Local populations are most likely during the rainy season, when temporary wet habitats and damp leaf litter become available.

Habitat

• Usually found in moist leaf litter, stream margins, muddy soil, marshes, wet grassland and vegetation near freshwater.

• Around Zihuatanejo, look along seasonally flowing streams, damp ravines, freshwater pools and shaded areas where leaf litter remains moist.

• Adults may also occur on low vegetation and on the surface of wet soil.

• Their small size means that they are easily overlooked unless leaf litter is examined carefully.

Size

• Adult length: approximately 1–7 mm (0.04–0.28 in), depending on species.

• Body elongated and relatively slender, with the short elytra characteristic of rove beetles.

• Usually black, dark brown or reddish-brown, sometimes with contrasting markings.

• The head is relatively large, and the eyes are often prominent.