Family: Ciidae
Subfamily: Ciinae
Length: 1.5-2.0 mm
Malacocis brevicollis is the only Nearctic species in the genus, though several other species live in Central America and the Caribbean.
This species feeds and breeds inside certain Polypore shelf fungi.
The West Virginia species in the family Ciidae have 4-4-4 tarsi; their clubbed antennae have 8-10 segments. The elytra are not striate.
Most Ciids feed inside bracket fungi, sometimes in bracket fungi that is long dead. Occasionally species in this family are found under bark or in beetle tunnels in wood, but these are probably feeding on fungi that grow there.
Note: This page is both the Malacocis brevicollis page, and the family page for Ciidae.
Insects of West Virginia Website