Korynetes caeruleus also known as the steely blue beetle is a predatory beetle in the family Cleridae

Cleridae

Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The Cleridae family has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences....

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The adult is a shiny blue colour.The larvae live in tunneled wood that has been infested by the common furniture beetle

Common furniture beetle

The common furniture beetle or common house borer is a woodboring beetle. In the larval stage it bores in wood and feeds upon it. Adult Anobium punctatum measure 2.7–4.5 mm in length. They have brown ellipsodial bodies with a pronotum resembling a monk's cowl .-Life cycle:Adults do not...

 and the deathwatch beetle and they feed on the larvae of these wood-damaging insects. The presence of Korynetes caeruleus indicates a heavy infestation of either woodboring insect. Adult females mate and lay eggs near or just inside exit holes, then die. It is not to be confused with Necrobia rufipes

Necrobia rufipes

The red-legged ham beetle, Necrobia rufipes is a predatory beetle in the family Cleridae with a cosmopolitan distribution.The adult beetles are long, convex, straight sided, and the surface has indentations called punctures....

, which is also a steely blue beetle in the family Cleridae. Both beetles have a significance in forensic entomology

Forensic entomology

Forensic entomology is the application and study of insect and other arthropod biology to criminal matters. It is primarily associated with death investigations; however, it may also be used to detect drugs and poisons, determine the location of an incident, and find the presence and time of the...

but for different reasons.

External links

• Entomologie Stuttgart Image