Somaticus

Somaticus
Somaticus aeneus, subtribe Trachynotina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Suborder:	Polyphaga
Family:	Tenebrionidae
Subfamily:	Pimeliinae
Tribe:	Sepidiini
Genus:	Somaticus Hope, 1840

The Tar darkling beetles (Somaticus) are an Afrotropical genus of Darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae). Adults are omnivorous scavengers, and the larvae, known as False wireworms, feed on plant roots.^[1] The larvae of several species are known to damage maize crops.^[2] The adults are matt black with longitudinal ridges on the pronotum and elytra, and may be covered in hairs of different colours.^[1]

Species include:

• Somaticus aeneus Solier,1843
• Somaticus angulatus (Fahraeus)
• Somaticus cinctus Haag-Rutenberg,1873
• Somaticus damarinus (Peringuey,1904)
• Somaticus distinctus Peringuey,1892
• Somaticus geniculatus
• Somaticus haagi Peringuey,1886
• Somaticus metropolis
• Somaticus spinosus Solier 1843
• Somaticus terricola
• Somaticus vestitus
• Somaticus wahlbergi Haagi-Rutenberg,1873

References

1. Picker, M.; et al. (2004). Field guide to Insects of South Africa. Cape Town: Struik. p. 232. ISBN 978-1-77007-061-5.
2. Drinkwater, T.W. (1991). "Morphology of and key to the larvae of six somaticus spp coleoptera tenebrionidae". Journal of African Zoology. 105 (6): 509–536.