Pupal-spiracles
Guides
Staphylinoidea
Rove, Ant-like stone, and Carrion Beetles
Staphylinoidea is a large and diverse superfamily of beetles with worldwide distribution, encompassing approximately 58,000 described species across six families. Adults range from minute (Ptiliidae at 0.3 mm, the smallest non-parasitic insects) to moderately large (Staphylinidae up to 50 mm, Silphidae up to 45 mm). The superfamily is characterized by distinctive wing and abdominal morphology: hind wings lack accessory posterior ridges, medial loops, wedge cells, and apical hinges; the 8th abdominal segment is not fully invaginated within the 7th; and the head typically lacks a coronal suture. Larvae possess 3-segmented maxillary palps with distinct galea and lacinia, well-developed tergites and sternites, and annular or annular-biforous spiracles without epistomal lobes.