• 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)

• Darkling Beetles and Allies (Superfamily Tenebrionoidea)

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Tenebrionoid beetles occupy a variety of habitats, including forests, grasslands, deserts, caves, coastal dunes, and decaying wood. Many species are scavengers, detritivores, or fungus feeders, while others are herbivores, predators, or parasites during part of their life cycle. Some families possess notable chemical defences, such as the blister beetles, which produce the toxic compound cantharidin. Ecologically, members of Tenebrionoidea play important roles in decomposition, nutrient cycling, pollination, and food webs.