Blaps splichali Gebien 1913 - Cyprus

Family: Tenebrionidae
Subfamily: Tenebrioninae
Tribe: Blaptini

Tenebrioninae are a large subfamily of the darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), containing, among others, the flour beetles.

Many of these robust and usually mid-sized beetles have elytra with some sort of corrugation on the upperside. They are usually colored blackish, dark brown or grey, and often have a satiny sheen; they are generally not glossy (some are outright matte) and few are metallic. The body is shaped like a medication capsule or like a bullet; the legs can be short and stout or long and spindly. They eat both fresh and decaying vegetation, including vegetable produce, and several are commercially important pests of flour and other cereal products.


Tenebrioninae are eaten by large invertebrates and small vertebrates, such as birds, rodents, and lizards. The larval stages of several species are cultured as feeder insects for captive insectivores, and include mealworms and mini mealworms. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos at Polystypos, 20/1/2016 by Michael Hadjiconstantis