Bess Beetles of Zihuatanejo

FAMILY PASSALIDAE

• 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)

• Scarabaeiform Beetles (Infraorder Scarabaeiformia)

• Scarabs, Stag Beetles, and Allies (Superfamily Scarabaeoidea)

• ​Bess Beetles (Family Passalidae)

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Family Passalidae comprises the bess beetles, patent-leather beetles, or horned passalus beetles, a distinctive family of wood-dwelling beetles in the order Coleoptera. Found primarily in tropical and subtropical regions, with some species extending into temperate forests, passalids are medium- to large-sized beetles characterized by their shiny black bodies, strong mandibles, and a prominent horn or tubercle on the head. Both adults and larvae live together within decaying logs, where they feed on decomposing wood that has been softened by fungi and microorganisms.