Neomida bicornis

Two-Horned Darkling Beetle



Neomida bicornis, Two-Horned Darkling Beetle

Family: Tenebrionidae

Subfamily: Diaperinae

Length: 3-4 mm

 

Though the Latin name of this species translates as "two horns," in fact the males have four horns, two of them prominent, and a much shorter pair well below the first. Females have no horns.

This little beetle is not rare, but you might miss seeing it for years unless you look inside some leathery or semi-leathery shelf fungus, where both adults and larvae feed.

 

Female image, Neomida bicornis, Family Tenebrionidae

 

Left: the hornless female Neomida bicornis


Insects of West Virginia