Family: Cucujidae
Subfamily: None defined in Cucujidae
Length: 10-14 mm
Cucujus clavipes is beautifully colored in bright red. The antennae, tibiae, and tarsi are black. The head is widest behind the eyes.
This species is economically beneficial, with both larvae and adults predacious on beetle species that damage timber stands. The flattened body shape allows Cucujus clavipes to move around under bark, and even to move into the tunnels of wood borers and bark beetles, where it stalks its prey.
Adults overwinter under bark, singly or in groups.
Below: their flat design allows Cucujus clavipes to travel in narrow galleries or crevices in wood.
Right: Ventral view of Cucujus clavipes. The abdomen is dark. Note the femora, which give the species its name clavipes, or club-shaped.
Note: This page is both the Cucujus clavipes page, and the family page for Cucujidae.
Insects of West Virginia
