Ripiphoridae
Guides
Macrosiagon cruenta
Macrosiagon cruenta is a wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae. The species is known to occur as a nest parasite or predator of mason wasp larvae, specifically in nests of Ancistrocerus campestris. Larvae have been observed preying on wasp larvae within pre-existing beetle borings in wood, hollowed twigs, or abandoned mud dauber nests. The species has been documented across eastern and central North America.
Macrosiagon dimidiata
wedge-shaped beetle
Macrosiagon dimidiata is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, found in North America. Members of this family are characterized by their unusual body shape and parasitic or hypermetamorphic life histories. The species name 'dimidiata' refers to a divided or halved color pattern, though specific details of this marking are not well documented in accessible literature.
Macrosiagon excavata
Macrosiagon excavata is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae. It is native to South America, with specimens documented in museum collections from that region. The species was described by Klug in 1825. Like other members of the genus Macrosiagon, it is likely associated with the nests of solitary wasps, though specific host records for this species are not well documented.
Macrosiagon flavipennis
Macrosiagon flavipennis is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae. Originally described by LeConte in 1866 from North America, it has since been recorded from Central America and, more recently, from Chile—representing the first South American record for the species. Like other members of Ripiphoridae, its biology and ecology remain poorly known.
Macrosiagon limbata
Bordered Wedge-shaped Beetle
Macrosiagon limbata is a wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, first described by Fabricius in 1781. Adults are active in summer and found on flowers, particularly elderberries and goldenrod. The species undergoes hypermetamorphosis, with larvae serving as internal parasitoids of Crabronidae wasps. Females deposit eggs on flowers visited by bees and other hymenopterans, where first-instar planidia attach to hosts for transport to nests.
Macrosiagon octomaculata
Macrosiagon octomaculata is a ripiphorid beetle species known to be a parasitoid of wasps and bees. The species exhibits a complex life cycle involving triungulinid larvae that use phoretic transport on host insects to reach their ultimate hosts. First accurately recorded from southern Brazil, specifically Santa Catarina Island, where it was found associated with the eriocaulaceous plant Paepalanthus polyanthus in restinga habitat. The species represents one of the few documented cases of Ripiphoridae utilizing an Eriocaulaceae species for reproductive biology.
Pelecotoma
wedge-shaped beetles
Pelecotoma is a genus of wedge-shaped beetles in the family Ripiphoridae, comprising at least three described species. The genus is classified in the subfamily Pelecotominae. Species in this genus occur in northern regions including Finland, Sweden, and parts of North America. The genus is characterized by its distinctive wedge-shaped body form typical of Ripiphoridae.
Pelecotominae
Pelecotominae is a subfamily of Ripiphoridae beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) established by Guérin-Méneville in 1857. The subfamily has a sparse fossil record, with confirmed specimens from Eocene Baltic amber and the first definitive Cretaceous record from mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber (approximately 99 million years ago). Extant genera include Clinops, distributed in South Africa, and Scotoscopus, found in the East Mediterranean region. The subfamily's disjunct modern distribution has been interpreted as reflecting relictual ranges tied to geological history.
Pirhidius
Pirhidius is a genus of beetles in the family Ripiphoridae, established by Besuchet in 1957. Ripiphoridae are a family of unusual beetles characterized by extreme sexual dimorphism and complex life histories often involving parasitoid relationships with other insects. The genus is poorly documented in public sources, with minimal observational records.
Ptilophorus
Ptilophorus is a genus of wedge-shaped beetles in the family Ripiphoridae, comprising at least three described species. The genus is characterized by adults with distinctive antennae—flabellate in males and triangular in females—and elytra that fully cover the abdomen, a trait unique among Ripiphoridae in some regions. Adult activity occurs primarily in spring, with males exhibiting conspicuous perching and scanning behaviors while females seek oviposition sites on dead twigs of living trees. The complete larval life cycle remains poorly known, though parasitic development is hypothesized based on family-level characteristics.
Ptilophorus wrightii
Engineered wedge-shaped Beetle
Ptilophorus wrightii is a wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, first described by LeConte in 1868. The species was historically known from the southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) and Mexico, with first records from Colorado and Oklahoma documented in 2014. The specific epithet honors General W.W. Wright, Chief Engineer of the Union Pacific Railway survey during which the species was collected.
Ripiphorinae
wedge-shaped beetles
Ripiphorinae is a subfamily of wedge-shaped beetles within Ripiphoridae, comprising at least 2 genera (Macrosiagon and Ripiphorus) and approximately 40 described species. Members exhibit hypermetamorphic development with free-living first instar larvae. The subfamily includes species with documented oceanic dispersal capabilities, as evidenced by Ripiphorus caboverdianus on Cape Verde.
Ripiphorus
wedge-shaped beetles
Ripiphorus is a genus of wedge-shaped beetles comprising at least 30 described species. Members are parasitic beetles with highly modified body plans and complex life cycles involving multiple hosts. The genus has been recorded across multiple continents, with notable disjunct distributions including isolated volcanic archipelagos such as the Cape Verde Islands. Adults are typically short-lived and often associated with flowers, while larvae are parasitoids of other insects.
Ripiphorus aurantus
Ripiphorus aurantus is a beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, described by Rivnay in 1929. Members of this genus are known for their unusual life history involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitism of other insects. The species name 'aurantus' (Latin for orange or golden) likely refers to coloration. Like other ripiphorids, adults are short-lived and do not feed.
Ripiphorus epinomiae
Ripiphorus epinomiae is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, first described by Linsley and MacSwain in 1950. It belongs to a genus whose members are known for their unusual biology, including hypermetamorphic development and parasitic relationships with bees. The species is documented from North America, though detailed ecological information remains limited.
Ripiphorus fasciatus-complex
fasciatus-complex ripiphorid beetles
The Ripiphorus fasciatus-complex comprises a group of closely related ripiphorid beetles within the genus Ripiphorus, characterized by distinctive banded or fasciate color patterns. These beetles belong to a family notable for extreme sexual dimorphism and complex life histories involving host associations, primarily with bees or wasps. Members of this complex are distinguished from congeners by specific elytral patterning and morphological features that remain under taxonomic study. The group occurs in North America and shares the family's unusual biology of hypermetamorphosis and parasitoid larval development.
Ripiphorus iridescens
Ripiphorus iridescens is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, described by Rivnay in 1929. Members of this genus are known for their unusual biology involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitic relationships with bees. The species epithet "iridescens" refers to the metallic or iridescent coloration typical of many ripiphorid beetles. Like other members of the family, this species likely exhibits the characteristic abbreviated elytra and reduced wing venation that distinguishes Ripiphoridae from other beetle families.
Ripiphorus minimus
Ripiphorus minimus is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, described by Pierce in 1904. Members of this genus are known for their unusual life history involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitoid relationships with other insects, particularly bees and wasps. The species is recorded from North America. Like other ripiphorids, adults are typically short-lived and do not feed.
Ripiphorus neomexicanus
Ripiphorus neomexicanus is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, a group known for their unusual life history involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitism of other insects. The species epithet "neomexicanus" suggests a geographic association with New Mexico, though the full distribution and biology of this species remain poorly documented. Like other members of Ripiphorus, this species likely exhibits the family's characteristic extreme sexual dimorphism and complex larval development. The genus Ripiphorus is among the most derived lineages within the Ripiphoridae, with adults typically active during summer months.
Ripiphorus niger
Ripiphorus niger is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae. Members of the genus Ripiphorus exhibit unusual life histories involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitic relationships with bees. The species epithet 'niger' refers to the black coloration typical of this taxon. Like other ripiphorids, adults are generally short-lived and do not feed, while larvae develop as parasitoids or inquilines in bee nests.
Ripiphorus nomiae
Ripiphorus nomiae is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae. Members of this genus are known for their unusual life history involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitism of other insects. The species was described by Rivnay in 1929 based on North American material. Like other Ripiphorus species, it likely exhibits the family's characteristic sexual dimorphism and complex host relationships.
Ripiphorus popenoei
Ripiphorus popenoei is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, first described by LeConte in 1880. Members of this genus are known for their unusual life history involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitism of other insects. The species is recorded from North America, though specific ecological details remain poorly documented in published literature. Like other ripiphorids, adults are typically short-lived and may be encountered on flowers.
Ripiphorus scaber
Ripiphorus scaber is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, described by LeConte in 1852. It belongs to a family of beetles known for unusual life histories involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitic relationships with other insects. The species occurs in North America.
Ripiphorus schwarzi
Ripiphorus schwarzi is a wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, first described by LeConte in 1880. The species is known from North America. Members of this family are characterized by their unusual body shape and complex life histories involving parasitism of other insects.
Ripiphorus sexdens
Ripiphorus sexdens is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae. It is found in North America. Members of the genus Ripiphorus are known for their distinctive body shape and unusual life history strategies, though species-specific details for R. sexdens remain limited in published literature.
Ripiphorus smithi
Ripiphorus smithi is a species of ripiphorid beetle described by Linsley and MacSwain in 1950. The species is native to North America. Its life history and development were documented by Linsley, MacSwain & Smith (1952). The free-living first instar larva of a closely related species, R. caboverdianus, is noted to be morphologically very similar to that of R. smithi.
Ripiphorus vierecki
Ripiphorus vierecki is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae. It was described by Fall in 1907. The species is known to occur in North America. Like other members of the genus Ripiphorus, it likely exhibits the family's characteristic unusual life history involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitoid associations with bees, though specific details for this species remain poorly documented.
Ripiphorus walshii
Ripiphorus walshii is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae. Members of this genus are known for their unusual life histories involving hypermetamorphosis and parasitic relationships with other insects. The species was described by LeConte in 1865 and occurs in North America. Ripiphorid beetles are typically active as adults during summer months.
Trigonodera
wedge-shaped beetles
Trigonodera is a genus of wedge-shaped beetles in the family Ripiphoridae, established by Dejean in 1834. The genus contains at least three described species distributed across different regions. Members of this genus share the characteristic wedge-shaped body form typical of Ripiphoridae.
Trigonodera schaefferi
wedge-shaped beetle
Trigonodera schaefferi is a species of wedge-shaped beetle in the family Ripiphoridae, a family of beetles with unusual life histories involving parasitism or hypermetamorphosis. The species is known from North America and was described by Rivnay in 1929. Ripiphorid beetles are generally uncommon and poorly known, with most species having specialized host associations that remain incompletely documented.