Ptiliidae is a family of very tiny beetles (including the smallest of all beetles) with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are colloquially called featherwing beetles, because the hindwings are narrow and feathery.[2]
There are approximately 600 described species in 80 genera,[2] but large numbers of specimens in collections await description and the true number of species is likely to be much higher than this.[3]
This family contains the smallest of all beetles,[3] with a length when fully grown of 0.3–4.0 millimetres (0.01–0.16 in).[2] The weight is approximately 0.4 milligrams.[4] Ptillid wings are feathery due to the much higher effective viscosity of air at small body sizes, which makes normal insect wings much less efficient. Unlike other small insects with feathery wings, such as parasitic wasps like fairyflies, ptillids do not fly using a clap and fling motion, but instead fly using a figure of eight pattern where the wings clap at the apex of the upward and downward strokes. They are capable of flying at speeds comparable to their larger relatives.[5]
The small size has forced many species to sacrifice some of their anatomy, like the heart, crop, and gizzard. While the exoskeleton and respiration system of the insects seems to be the major limiting factors regarding how large they can get, the limit for how small they can become appears to be related to the space required for their nervous and reproductive systems.[6]
Many species (e.g. in Ptinella, Pteryx, and Ptinellodes) are polymorphic, with two morphs so distinct that they appear to be different species or genera. There is a normal morph with well-developed eyes, wings and pigmentation, and also a vestigial morph in which these features are reduced or lacking. The vestigial morph is more common, making up 90% or more of individuals.
Life cycle and reproductionedit
Ptiliidae have a short life cycle, with an egg-adult time of 32-45 days observed for three British species of Ptinella. They can reproduce continuously under favourable conditions, with larvae often co-occurring with both teneral and fully hardened adults at different times of the year. The eggs are very large in comparison to the adult female (nearly half her body length) so only one egg at a time can be developed and laid. Thelytokousparthenogenesis is exhibited by several species, these only being known from females.[3]
Ecologyedit
Adults and larvae are microphagous, feeding on the spores and hyphae of fungi, as well as other organic detritus. They are found in a wide variety of habitats, including rotting and fungus infested wood, tree holes, under kelp along shorelines and within or near ant and termite nests.[7]
^Bouchard, Patrice; Bousquet, Yves; Davies, Anthony E.; Alonso-Zarazaga, Miguel A.; Lawrence, John F.; Lyal, Chris H. C.; Newton, Alfred F.; Reid, Chris A. M.; Schmitt, Michael; Ślipiński, S. Adam; Smith, Andrew B. T. (2011). "Family-group names in Coleoptera (Insecta)". ZooKeys (88): 1–972. doi:10.3897/zookeys.88.807. PMC3088472. PMID 21594053.
^ abcdeChristopher G. Mayka & Mikael Sörensson (2010). "Featherwing beetles (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae)". In Donald F. McAlpine & Ian M. Smith (ed.). Assessment of Species Diversity in the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone. NRC Research Press. pp. 433–438. ISBN9780660198354.
^ abcHenry S. Dybas (2000). "Featherwing beetles". DPI Entomology Circular. University of Florida. 218. EENY-177. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
^"Insects: Beetle". San Diego Zoo. 2008. Retrieved July 20, 2008.
^World’s Smallest Insect Pays a Hefty Price for its Size
^Eugene Hall, W.. "Ptiliidae Erichson, 1845: Coleoptera, Beetles". Handbook of Zoology Online, edited by Andreas Schmidt-Rhaesa. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2016. Accessed 2022-10-02.
^Floyd W. Shockley; Dale Greenwalt (2013). "Ptenidium kishenehnicum (Coleoptera: Ptiliidae), a New Fossil Described from the Kishenehn Oil Shales, with a Checklist of Previously Known Fossil Ptiliids". Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 115 (2): 173–181. doi:10.4289/0013-8797.115.2.173. S2CID 28658836.
External linksedit
Data related to Ptiliidae at Wikispecies
Family description on Tolweb
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ptiliidae.
December 20, 2023
ptiliidae, family, very, tiny, beetles, including, smallest, beetles, with, cosmopolitan, distribution, they, colloquially, called, featherwing, beetles, because, hindwings, narrow, feathery, temporal, range, barremian, recent, preꞒ, nptenidium, pusillumscient. Ptiliidae is a family of very tiny beetles including the smallest of all beetles with a cosmopolitan distribution They are colloquially called featherwing beetles because the hindwings are narrow and feathery 2 PtiliidaeTemporal range Barremian Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg NPtenidium pusillumScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ArthropodaClass InsectaOrder ColeopteraSuborder PolyphagaInfraorder StaphyliniformiaSuperfamily StaphylinoideaFamily PtiliidaeErichson 1845 1 SubfamiliesAcrotrichinae Cephaloplectinae PtiliinaeSynonymsTrichopterygidae Erichson 1845There are approximately 600 described species in 80 genera 2 but large numbers of specimens in collections await description and the true number of species is likely to be much higher than this 3 The family is divided into 3 subfamilies 2 Acrotrichinae Cephaloplectinae PtiliinaeContents 1 Description 2 Life cycle and reproduction 3 Ecology 4 Evolution 5 References 6 External linksDescription edit nbsp Ptiliidae figures 1 9 note the feathered wingsThis family contains the smallest of all beetles 3 with a length when fully grown of 0 3 4 0 millimetres 0 01 0 16 in 2 The weight is approximately 0 4 milligrams 4 Ptillid wings are feathery due to the much higher effective viscosity of air at small body sizes which makes normal insect wings much less efficient Unlike other small insects with feathery wings such as parasitic wasps like fairyflies ptillids do not fly using a clap and fling motion but instead fly using a figure of eight pattern where the wings clap at the apex of the upward and downward strokes They are capable of flying at speeds comparable to their larger relatives 5 The small size has forced many species to sacrifice some of their anatomy like the heart crop and gizzard While the exoskeleton and respiration system of the insects seems to be the major limiting factors regarding how large they can get the limit for how small they can become appears to be related to the space required for their nervous and reproductive systems 6 Many species e g in Ptinella Pteryx and Ptinellodes are polymorphic with two morphs so distinct that they appear to be different species or genera There is a normal morph with well developed eyes wings and pigmentation and also a vestigial morph in which these features are reduced or lacking The vestigial morph is more common making up 90 or more of individuals Life cycle and reproduction editPtiliidae have a short life cycle with an egg adult time of 32 45 days observed for three British species of Ptinella They can reproduce continuously under favourable conditions with larvae often co occurring with both teneral and fully hardened adults at different times of the year The eggs are very large in comparison to the adult female nearly half her body length so only one egg at a time can be developed and laid Thelytokous parthenogenesis is exhibited by several species these only being known from females 3 Ecology editAdults and larvae are microphagous feeding on the spores and hyphae of fungi as well as other organic detritus They are found in a wide variety of habitats including rotting and fungus infested wood tree holes under kelp along shorelines and within or near ant and termite nests 7 Evolution editFossil ptiliids have been recorded from the Oligocene roughly 30 million years ago 2 from the Eocene 46 2 43 5 million years ago and from the Cretaceous Lebanese and Burmese amber dated to 125 and 99 million years ago respectively 8 References edit Bouchard Patrice Bousquet Yves Davies Anthony E Alonso Zarazaga Miguel A Lawrence John F Lyal Chris H C Newton Alfred F Reid Chris A M Schmitt Michael Slipinski S Adam Smith Andrew B T 2011 Family group names in Coleoptera Insecta ZooKeys 88 1 972 doi 10 3897 zookeys 88 807 PMC 3088472 PMID 21594053 a b c d e Christopher G Mayka amp Mikael Sorensson 2010 Featherwing beetles Coleoptera Ptiliidae In Donald F McAlpine amp Ian M Smith ed Assessment of Species Diversity in the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone NRC Research Press pp 433 438 ISBN 9780660198354 a b c Henry S Dybas 2000 Featherwing beetles DPI Entomology Circular University of Florida 218 EENY 177 Retrieved October 22 2013 Insects Beetle San Diego Zoo 2008 Retrieved July 20 2008 Farisenkov Sergey E Kolomenskiy Dmitry Petrov Pyotr N Engels Thomas Lapina Nadezhda A Lehmann Fritz Olaf Onishi Ryo Liu Hao Polilov Alexey A 2022 02 03 Novel flight style and light wings boost flight performance of tiny beetles Nature 602 7895 96 100 doi 10 1038 s41586 021 04303 7 ISSN 0028 0836 PMC 8810381 PMID 35046578 World s Smallest Insect Pays a Hefty Price for its Size Eugene Hall W Ptiliidae Erichson 1845 Coleoptera Beetles Handbook of Zoology Online edited by Andreas Schmidt Rhaesa Berlin Boston De Gruyter 2016 Accessed 2022 10 02 Floyd W Shockley Dale Greenwalt 2013 Ptenidium kishenehnicum Coleoptera Ptiliidae a New Fossil Described from the Kishenehn Oil Shales with a Checklist of Previously Known Fossil Ptiliids Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 115 2 173 181 doi 10 4289 0013 8797 115 2 173 S2CID 28658836 External links edit nbsp Data related to Ptiliidae at Wikispecies Family description on Tolweb nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ptiliidae Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ptiliidae amp oldid 1143694468, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
