Family: Cleridae (chequered beetles)

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Ecdysozoa > Panarthropoda > Tritocerebra > Arthopoda > Mandibulata > Atelocerata > Panhexapoda > Hexapoda > Insecta (insects) > Dicondyla > Pterygota > Metapterygota > Neoptera > Eumetabola > Holometabola > Coleoptera (beetles) > Polyphaga > Superfamily: Cleroidea

Small to large beetles (2-30mm), slightly flattened, parallel-sided, very hairy with large heads. Usually brightly coloured. Some feed on pollen and others are predaceous, feeding on larvae of wood-boring beetles or grass-hopper eggs. Others feed on carrion or stored animal products. They therefore occur in a broad range of habitats - on flowers, foliage and trees. 

Teneurus variabilis (Orange-and-black clerid), 14mm. [image by M. Picker & C. Griffiths ©, from Field Guide to Insects of South Africa, used with permission].	Exkorynetes analis (Green bacon clerid), 6mm. [image by M. Picker & C. Griffiths ©, from Field Guide to Insects of South Africa, used with permission].
Gyponyx signifer (Velvet ant clerid), 14mm. [image by M. Picker & C. Griffiths ©, from Field Guide to Insects of South Africa, used with permission].

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