Storage-pest
Guides
Cis chinensis
Cis chinensis is a minute beetle in the family Ciidae (minute tree-fungus beetles), first described from China in 1991. It has become established as an invasive species in Europe, with confirmed populations in Switzerland and Germany. The species is primarily known as a storage pest of commercially dried fungi, but wild populations have been found living on bracket fungi growing on trees in urban environments. Adults exhibit size plasticity in response to temperature, and the species serves as host for specialized parasitoids and phoretic mites.
Necrobia ruficollis
ham beetle, red-shouldered ham beetle, red-necked bacon beetle
Necrobia ruficollis is a small, metallic beetle in the family Cleridae with cosmopolitan distribution. It is primarily associated with decomposing animal matter, including dried and smoked meats, animal skins, and cheese. The species is forensically significant, appearing on cadavers during advanced decay and skeletonization stages, and serves as an important indicator for postmortem interval estimation in cases involving longer time frames.