Brachypsectra fulva facts for kids

The Texas beetle (scientific name: Brachypsectra fulva) is a special kind of beetle. It belongs to a small family of beetles called Brachypsectridae.

Where It Lives

You can find the Texas beetle in Mexico and in the southern parts of the United States. It lives in states like Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah.

What It Looks Like

Adult Beetles

Adult Texas beetles are light brown and have a long, oval body. They are usually between 4 and 8 millimeters long. Their head is a bit wider than it is long, and they have round, bulging eyes.

Their antennae have ten parts, called segments. The last six segments are wider on one side, looking a bit like a comb. This comb-like shape is not as strong in female beetles. The part of their body just behind the head, called the prothorax, is wider than it is long.

The hard wing covers, called elytra, have faint lines and are rounded at the back. The hind wings are about as long as they are wide. Male beetles are smaller than females. Males stay about the same width along their body, while females are widest near their back end.

Larvae

The young Texas beetle, called a larva, is pale in color and can grow up to 15 millimeters long. It is flat and broadly oval shaped. Its head is dark and much narrower than its body. The antennae and legs of the larva are well-developed.

The larva has long, feathery flaps on its body segments. These flaps are on all its chest segments and the first eight belly segments. The top side of the larva is covered with hard, scale-like bristles. The last few belly segments are much narrower and darker. They form a short tail that the larva can hold up high.

We don't know exactly how many times a larva sheds its skin (called instars). We also don't know how long their whole life cycle takes. However, some larvae kept in labs lived for over two years without eating! Some larvae even shed their skin twice before changing into a pupa. The pupa forms inside a silky net in a small chamber. The adult beetle then comes out after about six weeks.

How It Lives

A Mysterious Larva

For a long time, scientists knew about the larvae of this beetle. But they didn't know what kind of adult beetle they would grow into. In 1927, a scientist named Gordon Floyd Ferris called them an "entomological enigma." This means they were a mystery in the world of insects.

Finding Adults and Larvae

Adult Texas beetles are not seen very often. However, they are attracted to light, and the males fly around between May and August.

The larvae are found in different places. You might find them:

• Under loose bark on trees
• In piles of dead leaves
• In cracks in rocks

They don't seem to prefer any specific type of plant. Instead, they choose places that have lots of other insects and arthropods.

What Larvae Eat

Texas beetle larvae are predators. This means they hunt and eat other creatures. They are very good at blending in with their surroundings. They stay still until their prey gets close.

They eat many different small creatures, including:

• Small spiders
• Pseudoscorpions (small, scorpion-like creatures)
• Cockroaches
• Termites
• Larvae of other beetles, like those from the Trogossitidae, Nitidulidae, and Tenebrionidae families.

Hunting Strategy

In one study, scientists offered spiders from the Metepeira genus to larvae in a lab. The larvae didn't pounce on the spiders. But when a spider climbed onto the larva's back, the larva arched its tail and head. This trapped the spider between its tail spine and its mouthparts. The larva then ate the spider, relaxing its tail as it did so.

In another study, several spiders were put near a single larva. Later, all the spiders were found gathered on the larva's back. The scientists thought it was possible that the larva released a special chemical, called an allomone. This chemical might have attracted the spiders to it.