The Trictenotomidae are a small family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea, containing fifteen species in two genera. Most species are found in the Oriental realm where they live in montane forest habitats. The family is considered, based on larval characters as well as sequence-based studies,[1] to be closely related to the Salpingidae.[2]
Adult Trictenotomidae can be mistaken for Cerambycidae (Prioninae) or Lucanidae but their 5-5-4 tarsal formula makes them distinctive. They have a long 11-segmented antenna. There are no fossil species known as yet, and nearly all the species are found mainly along the Himalayas extending into China, Korea, the Sunda Islands, and the Philippine Archipelago.[3] Trictenotoma grayi is found in the Western Ghats of peninsular India while T. templetonii is found in Sri Lanka. Adult beetles are attracted to lights and specimens are found widely in collections around the world however very little was known of their life-history until the habits of Trictenotoma formosana were studied in captivity in Taiwan in 2019. Based on that species, these are thought to breed in wood, the eggs being laid under bark. The eggs hatch after about 10 days. The larvae are carnivorous and can be cannibalistic. They build tunnels in soft wood in which they stay. They feed on their exuviae and may undergo 8-9 moults over the course of one and a half years before they pupate. The pupae eclose in 40 to 46 days as adults. Adults feed on tree sap.[4]
The scape of the antenna is longer than segments 2 and 3 together and the second segment isg rounded. The eight antennal segment is simple in Trictenotoma and has lateral projections in Autocrates. The terminal three antennal segments form a club.[5][6]
The Trictenotomidae are a small family of beetles in the superfamily Tenebrionoidea, containing fifteen species in two genera. Most species are found in the Oriental realm where they live in montane forest habitats. The family is considered, based on larval characters as well as sequence-based studies, to be closely related to the Salpingidae.
Trictenotoma grayiAdult Trictenotomidae can be mistaken for Cerambycidae (Prioninae) or Lucanidae but their 5-5-4 tarsal formula makes them distinctive. They have a long 11-segmented antenna. There are no fossil species known as yet, and nearly all the species are found mainly along the Himalayas extending into China, Korea, the Sunda Islands, and the Philippine Archipelago. Trictenotoma grayi is found in the Western Ghats of peninsular India while T. templetonii is found in Sri Lanka. Adult beetles are attracted to lights and specimens are found widely in collections around the world however very little was known of their life-history until the habits of Trictenotoma formosana were studied in captivity in Taiwan in 2019. Based on that species, these are thought to breed in wood, the eggs being laid under bark. The eggs hatch after about 10 days. The larvae are carnivorous and can be cannibalistic. They build tunnels in soft wood in which they stay. They feed on their exuviae and may undergo 8-9 moults over the course of one and a half years before they pupate. The pupae eclose in 40 to 46 days as adults. Adults feed on tree sap.
Adult Autocrates aeneus and larva of Trictenotoma childreniThe scape of the antenna is longer than segments 2 and 3 together and the second segment isg rounded. The eight antennal segment is simple in Trictenotoma and has lateral projections in Autocrates. The terminal three antennal segments form a club.
Genus Autocrates J. Thomson, 1860 Autocrates aeneus Parry, 1847 Autocrates maqueti Drumont, 2006 Autocrates obertheuri Vuillet, 1910 Autocrates ivanovi Drumont, 2016 Autocrates vitalisi Vuillet, 1912 Genus Trictenotoma Gray, 1832 Trictenotoma childreni Gray, 1832 Trictenotoma cindarella Kreische, 1921 Trictenotoma davidi Deyrolle, 1875 Trictenotoma formosana Kreische, 1920 Trictenotoma grayi Smith, 1851 Trictenotoma lansbergi Dohrn, 1882 Trictenotoma mniszechi Deyrolle, 1875 Trictenotoma mouhoti Deyrolle, 1875 Trictenotoma pollocki Telnov & Drumont, 2020 Trictenotoma templetoni Westwood, 1848 Trictenotoma westwoodi Deyrolle, 1875