Bracket-fungus

Guides

• Bolitotherus

  horned fungus beetle, forked fungus beetle

  Bolitotherus is a genus of darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) native to North America. The genus contains at least one well-documented species, Bolitotherus cornutus, commonly known as the forked fungus beetle or horned fungus beetle. All life stages are tightly associated with the fruiting bodies of wood-decaying bracket fungi, particularly species of Ganoderma and Fomes. These beetles have become important model organisms for studying sexual selection, social behavior, and population ecology in wild insect populations. Males possess distinctive thoracic horns used in combat for access to mating territories on fungal brackets.

  fungivoresexual-selectionmodel-organismdarkling-beetlebracket-fungushorned-beetleterritorialitysite-fidelitylong-lived-insectsocial-evolution

• Endecatomus dorsalis

  Endecatomus dorsalis is a beetle species in the family Bostrichidae (subfamily Endecatominae). It is known from the southern United States. Both adults and larvae feed on bracket fungi, specifically members of Polyporaceae and Hymenochaetaceae.

  beetlefungivorebracket-fungussouthern-United-StatesPolyporaceaeHymenochaetaceae

• Octotemnus glabriculus

  Octotemnus glabriculus is a minute tree-fungus beetle in the family Ciidae. It is a specialist fungivore that feeds on the bracket fungus Coriolus versicolor. Its feeding activity significantly reduces the host fungus's reproductive fitness by damaging the spore-producing hymenium. The species occurs across Europe and Northern Asia, including Kazakhstan.

  fungivoryspecialistCiidaebracket-fungusCoriolus-versicolorEuropeAsiaKazakhstan