Heteromastix tenuis (a species of soldier-beetle)
Basis for Tasmanian occurrence
Classification
Suborder: Polyphaga
Superfamily: Elateroidea
Family: Cantharidae
Subfamily: Dysmorphocerinae
Morphology
Flightedness: winged and assumed capable of flight
Morphology (characterised by L. Forster): — Antennae simple in both sexes, long and thin, 11th segment distincly longer than 10th — Elytra dark with short, moderately dense pubesence, and a slight bluish sheen — Pronotum strongly transverse, entirely black, and notched on each side at the base — Wings present.
Source literature on morphology and taxonomy (*primary taxonomic source, where identified):
*Lea, A.M. (1909). Revision of the Australian and Tasmanian Malacodermidae. Trans. Roy. Entom. Soc. Lond. 1909: 45-251. [Pages 131, 141].
Ecology
Association with dead wood or old trees: obligately saproxylic
Collection method(s) for TMAG material: — Flight intercept trapping (trough below Malaise trap) — Malaise trapping.
Source ecological literature:
Grove, S.J. (2009b). Beetles and fuelwood harvesting: a retrospective study from Tasmania’s southern forests. Tasforests 18: 77-99.
