Temnoscheila chlorodia

Adults are distinguished from similar bark-associated beetles by their metallic green-blue coloration and relatively large size (9–20 mm). They may be confused with darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) due to general body form, but differ in having exposed jaws and lacking the bead-like antennae typical of many tenebrionids. The metallic coloration separates them from the jet-black, slow-moving Lecontia discicollis (Boridae), another bark-associated group.

Adults are dark metallic green or blue with a convex, somewhat bullet-like body shape, measuring 9–20 mm in length. Larvae are pink or white with a dark head capsule, dark thoracic shield, and an anal plate bearing two spurs.

Found beneath bark of dead trees, particularly in decaying wood. Adults and larvae occupy moist decayed areas, including wood-decay fungus and nests of wood-boring insects. Associated with coniferous forests.

North America west of the Great Plains. Documented from British Columbia and Northwest Territories in Canada, and widely distributed across western United States.

Adults show bimodal activity pattern: most abundant during late spring, with a second peak in late summer.

Predatory. Both adults and larvae hunt under bark, presumably feeding on other insects and arthropods in decaying wood environments.

Larval stage is spent in dead wood beneath bark, developing in pink or white form with dark sclerotized head and thoracic shield. Specific pupation details and generation time are not documented.

Adults and larvae actively forage as predators beneath bark of dead trees. They have been observed in association with wood-boring insect nests and wood-decay fungi. Adults are capable of agile movement compared to some other bark-dwelling beetles.

Predator in dead wood ecosystems, contributing to decomposition dynamics by hunting in decaying bark and wood. May influence populations of other wood-inhabiting arthropods.

Not a forest pest; predatory habits suggest neutral to beneficial role in forest ecosystems. Occasionally encountered by entomologists and naturalists in western North America.

• Lecontia discicollisBoth are bark-dwelling beetles, but L. discicollis is jet black, slow-moving, and in family Boridae, versus metallic green-blue and agile T. chlorodia in Trogossitidae.
• Tenebrionidae (darkling beetles)General body form similarity, but tenebrionids typically have bead-like antennae and lack the exposed jaws and metallic coloration of T. chlorodia.

• bark-gnawing beetle
• predator
• dead wood
• western North America
• metallic coloration

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Bug Eric: Borids Are Not Bor-ing