The family Kateretidae comprises a small group of minute beetles from the superfamily Nitiduloidea, which are closely associated with plant flowers. Adults feed primarily on pollen, floral parts and sometimes nectar, whilst the larvae develop inside flowers or young ovaries, where they feed on pollen and developing seeds. These inconspicuous creatures, usually dark or metallic in colour, range in size from 1.5 to 4 millimetres and are closely related to the family Nitidulidae, from which they are distinguished mainly by their shortened elytra, which leave the tip of the abdomen exposed, and their gradually widening antennae. The family is now known from most regions of the world (with the exception of New Zealand) and comprises several dozen species across a number of genera, some of which are also documented in the fossil record in Cretaceous and Eocene amber. In the Czech Republic, there are around 12 species, which inhabit mainly damp habitats, riverbanks and ruderal sites.

Number of Species:

Family Card

Brachypterolus antirrhini

 

Brachypterolus linariae

 

Brachypterolus pulicarius

 

Brachypterolus vestitus

 

Brachypterus fulvipes

 

Brachypterus glaber

 

Brachypterus urticae

 

Heterhelus scutellaris

 

Heterhelus solani

 

Kateretes pedicularius

 

Kateretes pusillus

 

Kateretes rufilabris