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INSECT FACTS |
Identification
The Blacklegged Ham Beetle is dark blue black, with black legs and antennae. It is similar to the Red-legged Ham Beetle (Necrobia rufipes), which can be distinguished by its reddish legs and antennae. It is a minor pest of stored products, but is much less significant economically than the Red-legged Ham Beetle.
Other Names
Checkered Beetle
Size
adult beetle length 3.5mm - 4.5mm
Food
The Blacklegged Ham Beetle is commonly found on the skin and bones of dead animals and dead fish
Breeding
The female beetle lays her eggs in crevices. The larvae burrow into the food product where they feed. The larvae develop through three or four instars and then spin a cocoon to pupate. The cocoon may be within the product or in a dark crevice nearby.
Range
Justin Bartlett (www.cleridae.info) has advised that this species does not occur in Australia ... "I have seen a few specimens labelled Necrobia violacea in institutional insect collections in Australia, but every one of them has turned out to be a species of Phlogistus (a native clerid)".
Classification
| Class: | Insecta | | Order: | Coleoptera | | Family: | Cleridae | | Genus: | Necrobia | | Species: | violacea | | Common Name: | Blacklegged Ham Beetle |
Relatives in same Genus
Red-legged Ham Beetle (N. rufipes)
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