Aleochara is an unusual genus in the beetle family Staphylinidae, the Rove beetles; larvae of Staphylinidae occur in many assorted ecological roles, most being scavengers, predators or carrion feeders, but the larvae of at least those species of Aleochara whose life histories are known, are parasitoids; they feed in the puparia of suitable species of flies, killing the host in the process. Adult Aleochara are predators.
Aleochara are found worldwide except in Antarctica. There are more than 400 species in 16 subgenera. The adults of many species can be found near dung or carrion, commonly feeding on the eggs, larvae, and puparia of various scatophagous and necrophagous Diptera.
The most extensively studied aleocharine rove beetle is Aleochara bilineata Gyllenhal, which is a significant biological control agent against some fly pests (notably Delia spp. in the family Anthomyiidae) of agricultural crops in the mustard and cabbage family Brassicaceae, such as cabbage, rutabaga, canola, and many others.
Species include:
- Aleochara bilineata, a well studied species
- Aleochara wrightii, named after Jane Wright, the entomologist who discovered it
- Aleochara brevipennis Gravenhorst, 1806
- Aleochara curtula (Goeze, 1777)
- Aleochara lata Gravenhorst, 1802
- Aleochara intricata Mannerheim, 1830
- Aleochara ruficornis Gravenhorst, 1802
- Aleochara bilineata Gyllenhal, 1810
- Aleochara binotata Kraatz, 1858
- Aleochara bipustulata (Linnaeus, 1761)
- Aleochara verna Say, 1836
- Aleochara obscurella Gravenhorst, 1806
- Aleochara phycophila Allen, 1937
- Aleochara grisea Kraatz, 1856
- Aleochara punctatella Motschulsky, 1858
- Aleochara spadicea (Erichson, 1837)
- Aleochara cuniculorum Kraatz, 1858
- Aleochara discipennis Mulsant & Rey, 1853
- Aleochara fumata Gravenhorst, 1802
- Aleochara funebris Wollaston, 1864
- Aleochara inconspicua Aubé, 1850
- Aleochara kamila Likovský, 1984
- Aleochara lanuginosa Gravenhorst, 1802
- Aleochara lygaea Kraatz, 1862
- Aleochara maculata Brisout, 1863
- Aleochara moerens Gyllenhal, 1827
- Aleochara moesta Gravenhorst, 1802
- Aleochara sanguinea (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Aleochara sparsa Heer, 1839
- Aleochara stichai Likovský, 1965
- Aleochara tristis Gravenhorst, 1806
- Aleochara villosa Mannerheim, 1830
Subgenera
The genus Aleochara contains 400 species distributed into 16 subgenera. Below is a list of subgenera:
- Heterochara
- Aleochara
- Aidochara
- Euryodma
- Ceranota
- Emplenota
- Triochara
- Maseochara
- Echochara
- Calochara
- Mesochara
- Xenochara
- Rheochara
- Polystomota
- Coprochara
- Megalogastria
References
Other sources
- Klimaszewski, J. 1984. A revision of the genus Aleochara Gravenhorst in America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae). Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 129: 1-211.
- Maus, C., B. Mittman, K. Peschke. 1998. Host records of parasitoid Aleochara Gravenhorst species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) attacking puparia of cyclorrhapheous Diptera. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 45: 231-254.