Odontotaenius disjunctus
2826333
218552103
2008-06-11T04:04:27Z
12.107.115.3
{{Taxobox | name = Patent-leather beetle
| image = Beetle-Bessbug.jpg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
| classis = [[Insect]]a
| ordo = [[Beetle|Coleoptera]]
| familia = [[Passalidae]]
| genus = ''[[Odontotaenius]]''
| species = '''''O. disjunctus'''''
| binomial = ''Odontotaenius disjunctus''
| binomial_authority = ([[Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger|Illiger]], 1800)
}}
{{wikispecies|Odontotaenius disjunctus|Patent-leather beetle}}
The '''patent-leather beetle''' or "Jerusalem beetle" (''Odontotaenius disjunctus'') is a [[beetle]] in the family [[Passalidae]] which can grow to just over an inch-and-a-half long. They are shiny black and have many long grooves on their [[elytra]] (outer wings). They have a small horn between their eyes, and clubbed attenae (meaning they have little knobs on them). When disturbed, adults produce a squeaking sound by rubbing their wings on the abdomen. This is apparently used for communication between members of the colony, possibly to communicate danger to other beetles.
Patent-leather beetles are usually found under, or inside, old logs or stumps. They eat old decaying wood. These beetles make tunnels in the wood, called "galleries." Inside the galleries, the beetles will mate, lay eggs, and raise their young. Larvae hatch from the eggs; they look like white grubs. The adults feed the [[larvae]] a chewed-up mixture of wood chips and [[feces]]. The larvae cannot feed themselves. Patent-leather beetle larvae take a year to develop. When the larvae are ready, they become [[pupae]] (like cocoons). Adults hatch from the pupa. Adult beetles are often covered by mites.
Many patent-leather beetles may live together in a colony in the same log. Adults can live over a year. Patent-leather beetles like to eat logs of certain trees. Mostly they eat deciduous trees (ones where the leaves fall off in the fall), such as oaks and elm. Wood infested by these beetles is usually well decomposed and falls apart readily.
The patent-leather beetle is considered beneficial in its activities to decompose dead wood, and is medically harmless.
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Image:Odontotaenius disjunctus sjh.jpg
Image:Odontotaenius disjunctus variation sjh.jpg|Variation
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[[Category:Beetles]]
[[Category:Woodboring beetles]]