Cryptophagidae

Cryptophagidae

[‚krip·tə′fāj·ə‚dē]

(invertebrate zoology)

The silken fungus beetles, a family of coleopteran insects in the superfamily Cucujoidea.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Cryptophagidae

 

a family of small beetles that measure 1–5 mm long and usually are yellow or brown in color. The antennae are club-shaped. The insects, which live in decaying plant remains and under bark, feed on a variety of lower fungi. Of the approximately 2,500 widely distributed species, about 200 are found in the USSR. Some species are crop pests: for example, the beetle Atomaria linearis injures the seeds, shoots, and roots of beets and turnips.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.