Temnoscheila aerea

Temnoscheila species can be distinguished from superficially similar darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) by their bead-like antennae combined with exposed jaws and narrow body form. They differ from the unrelated conifer bark beetles of family Boridae (such as Lecontia discicollis) by their more agile movement and typically iridescent or metallic coloration, versus the jet black, slow-moving, bullet-like shape of borids. The base of the antenna in related taxa is concealed by a ridge, a helpful identification character for the broader group.

Members of the genus Temnoscheila are associated with dead or decaying wood on conifers. Related species in the same family have been documented in fire-killed timber, particularly in moist, white-rotted wood near and below ground level in standing trees killed by fire or bark beetles.

Highly agile in movement, distinguishing them from slower-moving beetles in similar habitats.

• Lecontia discicollisBoth are narrow-bodied beetles associated with conifer bark, but L. discicollis (family Boridae) is jet black, slow-moving, and has a convex bullet-like shape without metallic iridescence, whereas Temnoscheila aerea is agile and typically metallic.
• Tenebrionidae (darkling beetles)Some darkling beetles share bead-like antennae, but Temnoscheila species have exposed jaws and more narrow bodies, and few tenebrionids are so narrow-bodied.

• bark-gnawing beetle
• Trogossitidae
• conifer-associated

• BugGuide
• iNaturalist taxon
• Bug Eric: Borids Are Not Bor-ing