Neha Patil (Editor)

Ptinus tectus

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Kingdom
  
Superfamily
  
Bostrichoidea

Genus
  
Phylum
  
Rank
  
Species

Infraorder
  
Bostrichiformia

Family
  
Ptinidae

Scientific name
  
Ptinus tectus

Higher classification
  
Ptinus

Order
  
Beetle

Ptinus tectus httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Similar
  
Ptinus, Beetle, Ptinus fur, Spider beetle, Golden spider beetle

Ptinus tectus, often called the Australian spider beetle, is a species of beetle in the genus Ptinus of the family Ptinidae, or family Anobiidae, subfamily Ptininae. It is a cosmopolitan species (arrived in Europe and the UK from Australia in 1900). It is a pest of stored foods and museum specimens.

Contents

Ptinus tectus tectus

P. tectus (Boieldieu, 1856) is the name most often used for this species. Some works still state Ptinus ocellus Brown, 1929.

Ptinus tectus Australian spider beetle Ptinus tectus Coleoptera Anobiidae

Description

Ptinus tectus Ptinus tectus Ptinidae Ptinus tectus Roger Thomason Flickr

The Australian spider beetle (Pictus tectus) measures 2.5-4 mm in length and is coloured dark brown. The adults have biting mouthparts, a well developed thorax and 11-segmented antennae. Characteristics which give them a spider-like appearance include a stout body, pronounced constriction of the neck shield and 6 long thin legs with 5-segmented tarsi.

Life cycle

Ptinus tectus Ptinus tectus Boieldieu 1856 BEETLES and BEETLE RECORDING in

The female Australian spider beetle lays 100-120 sticky eggs over a period of 4-5 weeks in early summer, either singly or in small batches. At 20-25 °C the eggs hatch in 3 - 16 days, producing larvae which are fleshy, curved, covered with fine hairs and relatively immobile. Larval development takes at least 6 weeks, during which time the larvae moult 4 or 5 times. When mature, they wander in search of a pupation site where they spin a cocoon cell in which to pupate. Adults emerge after 20 to 30 days and will live for as long 12 months.

At 70 % R.H. development of Ptinus tectus from egg laying to emergence from the cocoon takes an average of about 62 days at 23-25°C; at 15°C the time taken is about 130 days. The minimum temperature at which complete development can occur is 10°C and the maximum is between 28 and 30°C. Considerable mortality occurs in eggs and larvae at 28°C.

Domestic pest

The species is considered as a pest in museums. It is recorded from at least 55 museums and historic houses in the United Kingdom.

References

Ptinus tectus Wikipedia