Cucujiformia
Encyclopedia
Cucujiformia is an infraorder of polyphaga
n beetle
s, representing the vast majority of plant-eating beetles.
The infraorder contains six superfamilies:
Polyphaga
Polyphaga is the largest and most diverse suborder of beetles; the name is derived from two two Greek words: poly-, meaning 'many', and phagein, meaning 'to eat', so the suborder is called the “eaters of many things”...
n beetle
Beetle
Coleoptera is an order of insects commonly called beetles. The word "coleoptera" is from the Greek , koleos, "sheath"; and , pteron, "wing", thus "sheathed wing". Coleoptera contains more species than any other order, constituting almost 25% of all known life-forms...
s, representing the vast majority of plant-eating beetles.
The infraorder contains six superfamilies:
- ChrysomeloideaChrysomeloideaChrysomeloidea is an enormous superfamily of beetles. There are tens of thousands of species, mostly in the families Cerambycidae and Chrysomelidae, the leaf beetles.-Overview:...
(~7 families including longhorn beetleLonghorn beetleThe longhorn beetles are a cosmopolitan family of beetles, typically characterized by extremely long antennae, which are often as long as or longer than the beetle's body...
s & leaf beetleLeaf beetleBeetles in the family Chrysomelidae are commonly known as leaf beetles. This is a family of over 35,000 species in more than 2,500 genera, one of the largest and most commonly encountered of all beetle families....
s) - CleroideaCleroideaCleroidea is a small superfamily of beetles. Most of the members of the group are somewhat slender, often with fairly soft, flexible elytra, and typically hairy or scaly.It contains about 10,000 species in the families:* Acanthocnemidae Crowson 1964...
(checkered beetles, bark-gnawing beetles and soft-winged flower beetlesMelyridaeMelyridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. The family Melyridae contains 520 species in 58 genera in North America. Most are elongate-oval, soft-bodied beetles 10 mm long or less. Many are brightly colored with brown or red and black...
) - CucujoideaCucujoideaCucujoidea is a superfamily of beetles. They include many fungus beetles, as well as ladybugs. Also included are a diversity of lineages of "bark beetles" unrelated to the "true" bark beetles , which are weevils ....
(31 families that includes ladybirds, fungus beetles and bark beetleBark beetleA bark beetle is one of approximately 220 genera with 6,000 species of beetles in the subfamily Scolytinae. Traditionally, this was considered a distinct family Scolytidae, but now it is understood that bark beetles are in fact very specialized members of the "true weevil" family...
s) - Curculionoidea (~8 families primarily consisting of weevils and also including snout beetles)
- Lymexylidae (ship-timber beetles)
- TenebrionoideaTenebrionoideaTenebrionoidea is a very large and diverse superfamily of beetles.It broadly corresponds to the 'Heteromera' of earlier authors.It contains the families:* Aderidae Winkler 1927 * Anthicidae Latreille 1819...
(formerly "Heteromera") (30 families including blister beetleBlister beetleBlister beetles are beetles of the family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. There are approximately 7,500 known species worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some aposematically colored, announcing their toxicity to would-be...
s and ant-like beetleAnt-like beetleAnt-like beetle may refer to:* Ant-like flower beetle, a family of beetles known to consume small arthropods, pollen, fungi, and whatever else they can find* Ant-like leaf beetle, a family of beetles found on the undersides of the leaves of shrubs and trees...
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