Tachyporinae MacLeay, 1825

Berx, Peter, Bosmans, Bart, Dekoninck, Wouter, Janssen, Marc, Stassen, Eugène & Crevecoeur, Luc, 2023, Faunistic survey of myrmecophilous and other ant-associated beetles and spiders in the Belgian province of Limburg (Araneae, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 141, pp. 1-61 : 44

Tachyporinae MacLeay, 1825

Sepedophilus bipunctatus (2.0- 2.8 mm) and S. testaceus (3.5-5.0mm) ( Fig. 36A ) are not very common in Limburg (Annex) and most specimens are collected sieving decomposing plant material. Only 25% of the sampled individuals of S. bipunctatus and 7.5% of S. testaceus have been captured with flight-interception traps with, in addition, a single or just a few specimens per set-up. All the species we selected from the genus Tachyporus Gravenhorst, 1802 are common in the province of Limburg (Annex). Tachyporus hypnorum (3.1-4.0mm) ( Fig. 36B ) is a predator that, during nocturnal foraging, feeds on aphids, a common food source shared with the xylobiont ant L. brunneus .

Figures

Fig.36. A, Sepedophilus testaceus (Fabricius, 1793) (range 3.5-5.0 mm). B, Tachyporus hypnorum (Fabricius, (1775) (3.8mm; range 3.1-4.0 mm). © U. Schmidt.