The family Colonidae represents a hitherto little-studied group of small beetles within the superfamily Staphylinoidea. Members of the family are distributed almost cosmopolitanly, with the greatest diversity concentrated in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere. These inconspicuous beetles are characterised by a teardrop- or oval-shaped body with typical velvety hair, a unique four-segmented antennae club and relatively robust legs, often with serrated or spiny hind femora. The entire group is ecologically bound to the subterranean (hypogeic) environment. Both adults and larvae live in the upper soil layers, in forest litter or in the burrows of small mammals, where they have been shown to feed on the mycelium of underground fungi and moulds. Due to this cryptic life cycle, they elude conventional entomological methods, and specialised techniques—such as impact or underground traps, or evening sweeping of vegetation—are essential for their successful collection.

Number of Species:

Family Card

Colon bidentatum

 

Colon serripes

 

Colon viennense

 

Colon latum

 

Colon rufescens

 

Colon affine

 

Colon angulare

 

Colon appendiculatum

 

Colon armipes

 

Colon barnevillei

 

Colon brunneum

 

Colon calcaratum

 

Colon clavigerum

 

Colon delarouzei

 

Colon dentipes

 

Colon fuscicorne

 

Colon murinum

 

Colon zebei