OzAnimals.com
Australian Wildlife

  Hairy Fungus Beetle (Typhaea stercorea)





Hairy Fungus Beetle | Typhaea stercorea photo
Hairy Fungus Beetle

Image by USDA-ARS-GMPRC Image Database - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)

Hairy Fungus Beetle | Typhaea stercorea photo
Hairy Fungus Beetle larva

Image by USDA-ARS-GMPRC Image Database - License: Public Domain.    (view image details)







HAIRY FUNGUS BEETLE FACTS

Identification
The adult Hairy Fungus Beetle is a small brown oval-shaped hairy beetle. The wing covers (elytra) are hairy with parallel lines of fine ridges along the length. The antennae have a club shape at the tips. The larvae are white to pale brown.

Size
length: adult beetle 2.2mm to 3mm, larvae 4mm to 4.5mm

Habitat
Common in moist environments in food processing plants, warehouses, railway cars and homes.

Food
feeds amongst grains and stored products such as mouldy cereals, tobacco, peanuts and hay. It feeds on the fungi that grow on damp food products more than the food product itself.

Breeding
Female beetles deposit their eggs amongst mouldy grain or other food product. The larvae feed on fungi and other fine material.

Range
a cosmopolitan species



Classification
Class:Insecta
Order:Coleoptera
Family:Mycetophagidae
Genus:Typhaea
Species:stercorea
Common Name:Hairy Fungus Beetle