Kateretes Herbst, 1793

Hisamatsu, Sadatomo, 2011, A review of the Japanese Kateretidae fauna (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 51 (2), pp. 551-585 : 556

Genus Kateretes Herbst, 1793

Type species. Dermestes pedicularius Linnaeus, 1758 , subsequent designation by HOPE (1840).

Diagnosis. Body oval, rather flattened. Pronotum transverse; disc with coarse large punctures, larger than eye facet; posterior angles rounded; basal margin nearly straight or with slight curvature. Male abdominal tergite VIII concealed, narrowing at apex. Tarsal claws simple. Ovipositor with short styli.

Bionomics. Members are often attracted to the flowers of Carex (Cyperaceae) and Juncus (Juncaceae) ( JELÍNEK & CLINE 2010).

Distribution. Ten species belonging to this genus are distributed in the Palaearctic Region (see HISAMATSU 1985, S-T. HISAMATSU 2006, JELÍNEK & AUDISIO 2007), except K. ornatus Jelínek, 1978 , which is distributed in the Oriental Region ( India) ( JELÍNEK 1978), and K. scissus Parsons, 1943 from the Nearctic region ( PARSONS 1943).

Note. Palaearctic species were treated by several authors (KIRK- SPRIGGS 1996, SPORNRAFT 1967, KIREJTSHUK 1992, AUDISIO 1993). Japanese species were studied by S-T. HISAMATSU (2006). The North American species is currently being revised, along with the other Kateretidae fauna of the region (Cline & Audisio, pers. comm.).