Glischrochilus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of sap-feeding and predatory 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 under the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Nitidulidae, subfamily Cryptarchinae. Most members of this genus are commonly known as picnic beetles or beer bugs.

Description

Glischrochilus are oblong

Rectangle

In Euclidean plane geometry, a rectangle is any quadrilateral with four right angles. The term "oblong" is occasionally used to refer to a non-square rectangle...

 shiny black beetles with attractive yellow, red, or orange markings on their elytra. Their elytra are short and expose the upper surface of their last abdominal segment(s), a good way to distinguish them from the superficially similar but generally larger Megalodacne

Megalodacne

Megalodacne is a genus of fungivorous beetles in the family Erotylidae.-Description:Adult beetles of the genus Megalodacne range in size from , making them among the larger members of the family....

beetles. They are so similar that some species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of Glischrochilus were once classified along with Megalodacne under the now reclassified genus Ips.

Like other nitulidid beetles, adult Glischrochilus can be distinguished from other kinds of sap-feeding beetles by their characteristic 11-segmented antennae that end with a 3-segmented ball-like club. Glischrochilus are among the largest of the nitulidid beetles, but they are still generally smaller in comparison to other beetles, averaging at only 5 millimetre (0.196850393700787 in) in length, with larger specimens at 12 mm (0.47244094488189 in) long.

Glischrochilus eggs are sausage-shaped and milky white. Eggs are laid during spring

Spring (season)

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

 near decaying plant matter. Larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e are about 6.4 mm (0.251968503937008 in) long and feed for three weeks on fermenting juices and then pupate. It takes a little over a month for picnic beetles to develop from egg to adult and only one generation is produced each year.

Ecology

Glischrochilus beetles from the subgenus Librodor, consisting the majority of species in the genus, feed on exuding sap from injured trees and decaying vegetable or fungal matter. They are also attracted to ripening fruits, as well as beer

Beer

Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...

, vinegar

Vinegar

Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. Commercial vinegar is produced either by fast or slow fermentation processes. Slow methods generally are used with traditional...

, wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

, fruit juice and fermenting beverages. They frequently drown as they feed, rendering these liquids unsuitable for consumption. They congregate in large numbers when such beverages are present, often ruining picnic

Picnic

In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...

s and outdoor gatherings like barbecue

Barbecue

Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

s, earning them their common name

Common name

A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...

s of 'picnic beetles', 'picnic bugs', or 'beer bugs'. Researchers who wish to attract the bugs use bait that contains beer, molasses, vinegar, pineapple and other ingredients.

Glischrochilus beetles from the subgenus Glischrochilus on the other hand are facultative and obligatory predators of soft invertebrate

Invertebrate

An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...

s (including insect larvae) living under tree barks.

Species from both subgenera are found in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Eurasia

Eurasia

Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...

.

Glischrochilus are also known to be involved in the transmission of the plant pathogenic fungi

Fungus

A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...

 Ceratocystis

Ceratocystis

Ceratocystis is a genus of fungi within the Ceratocystidaceae family.-Species:*Ceratocystis acericola*Ceratocystis acoma*Ceratocystis adiposa*Ceratocystis aequivaginata*Ceratocystis albida*Ceratocystis albofundus...

and Fusarium

Fusarium

Fusarium is a large genus of filamentous fungi widely distributed in soil and in association with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes, and are relatively abundant members of the soil microbial community. Some species produce mycotoxins in cereal crops that can affect human and animal health...

. They are also considered pests of certain fruit and vegetable crops like strawberries

Strawberry

Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...

, corn

Corn

Corn is the name used in the United States, Canada, and Australia for the grain maize.In much of the English-speaking world, the term "corn" is a generic term for cereal crops, such as* Barley* Oats* Wheat* Rye- Places :...

, tomato

Tomato

The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

es, apricot

Apricot

The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...

, muskmelon

Muskmelon

Muskmelon is a species of melon that has been developed into many cultivated varieties. These include smooth skinned varieties such as honeydew, crenshaw and casaba, and different netted cultivars...

s, raspberries

Raspberry

The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...

, and peach

Peach

The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...

es. They normally only become a problem when fruits are damaged or are overripe and beginning to ferment. They are difficult to control as they are primarily attracted to the odor of food. Methods of control include scent baits and removing damaged or overripe fruits.

Taxonomy

Glischrochilus belongs to the subfamily Cryptarchinae under the tribe Cryptarchini. It contains two subgenera

Subgenus

In biology, a subgenus is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.In zoology, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the generic name and the specific epithet: e.g. the Tiger Cowry of the Indo-Pacific, Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, which...

, Glischrochilus and Librodor.

They were first described by the German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 entomologist Edmund Reitter

Edmund Reitter

Edmund Reitter was a Austrian entomologist , writer and a collector.Edmund Reitter was above all well-known as an expert on the beetles of the Palaearctic....

 in 1873. The name Glischrochilus is derived from the Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 words (sticky) and (, lip).

List of species

The following list may be incomplete or inaccurate:

• Subgenus Glischrochilus Reitter, 1873
  • Glischrochilus biguttulus (Motschulsky, 1860)
  • Glischrochilus cruciatus (Motschulsky, 1860)
  • Glischrochilus quadripunctatus (Linnaeus, 1758) – European bark beetle predator
  • Glischrochilus confluentus (Say)
  • Glischrochilus obtusus (Say)
  • Glsichrochilus vittatus (Say)
  • Glischrochilus moratus (Brown)
  • Glischrochilus lecontei (Brown, 1931)

• Subgenus Librodor Reitter, 1884
  • Glischrochilus fasciatus (Olivier, 1790) – red-spotted sap beetle
  • Glischrochilus siepmanni (W. J. Brown)
  • Glischrochilus sanguinolentus (Olivier,1790)
  • Glischrochilus affinis Kirejtshuk, 1984
  • Glischrochilus binaevus (Reitter, 1879)
  • Glischrochilus christophi (Reitter, 1879)
  • Glischrochilus clavatus Reitter, 1884
  • Glischrochilus grandis (Tournier, 1872)
  • Glischrochilus hortensis (Fourcroy, 1785)
  • Glischrochilus ipsoides (Reitter, 1879)
  • Glischrochilus pantherinus (Reitter, 1879)
  • Glischrochilus parvipustulatus (Kolbe, 1886)
  • Glischrochilus quadrisignatus (Say, 1835) – four-spotted sap beetle
  • Glischrochilus rufiventris (Reitter, 1879)
  • Glischrochilus subcylindricus Reitter, 1884
  • Glischrochilus quadriguttatus (Fabricius, 1776)
  • Glischrochilus jelineki Lasoń, 2009
  • Glischrochilus japonicus (Motschulsky, 1858)