a survey of beetles damaging commercially impotrtant ... - Icrisat.ac.in

PART B-CLASSIFICATION, BIOLOGY AND HOST RANGE OF BORERSIn the present survey 53 species of beetles have been collected andidentified. Together they attack 46 species of timber. The beetles belongto the following families under the Order Coleoptera - Cerambycidae,Bostrychidae, Lyctidae, Scolytidae, Platypodidae, Curculionidae andAnthribidae.a layman.Beetles are one of the groups of insects easiest to distinguish even toThe adult beetles can be recognized by their first pair of wingswhich are modified into a thickened structure (elytra) which protect thesecond pair of wings. The members of this group range in size fromminute to large insects and are of varied habits. They may be herbivorous,scavangers or predators.The borers collected in this survey can be assigned to their respectivefamilies by running through the following key using mainly characters ofantennal and leg structure :Key to the families of wood borers.1. Antennae very long, terminal segmentsnot forming a club ...- Antennae relatively shorter, with theterminal joints dilated to form a club2 Antennaeeibowed at the end of a verylong 2nd segment ...- Antennae not elbowed, 2nd segmentnot elongated. ...3.-4.-5.Head produced into a more or less distinctrostrum; legs not fossorial ...Head without a distinct rostrum; Legsfossorial and denticulate ...Tarsi distinctly 5-jointed ..Tarsi apparently 4-jointed -..Antennal club 2-jointed; 1st segment ofabdomen much longer than the others ...._.Cerambycidae234CurculionidaeScolytidae56Lyctidae