Featured speciesText © K. Reißmann, T. Hörren, M. Stern, F. Bötzl and C. Benisch
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02.10.2020
Claviger testaceus Preyssl., 1790
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The 2.1 to 2.3 mm large short-winged mold beetle Claviger testaceus (family Pselaphidae) is one of only two representatives of the western palearctic genus in Germany. It can be distinguished from its rarer sister species by the thick, short antennae. Claviger testaceus is known to occur in Central and Northern Europe and prefers warm and dry slopes, grazing pastures on limestone, quarries and dry edges of forests. The species is highly adapted to the life with ants of the genera Lasius and Myrmica and can't survive outside the ant nest. The eyes are atrophied. The beetle excretes a secretion highly attractive to the ants, which in turn feed the beetle. The beetle also feeds on the larvae of ants. In Germany, Claviger testaceus is widespread but not very common and is regarded as vulnerable (RL 3). (CB)
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