Checklist Feature

Trilobite Beetles: “Prehistoric” Creatures of our Forests

on
9 September 2016

Trilobite beetles are not prehistoric. They merely resemble the extinct trilobite and adopted the name due to the visual similarity. However, that didn’t stop some passionate photographers from calling it the “Jurassic bug” when they (we) first saw it in the wild!

This page consists of a personal checklist of all Trilobite Beetles (Platerodrilus sp.) that I’ve encountered over the years. Most are not identified, so any assistance on identification will be appreciated! Note that Duliticola is an obsolete junior synonym of Platerodrilus. Also, P. hoiseni is a junior synonym of P. ruficollis based on Masek & Bocak, 2014. The females in this genus remain in larval form and I don’t think I’ve seen the male before.

All photos are of live subjects shot in the field, with the dorsal view selected where available. Click on individual photos for larger views and views from other angles. As specimens were not collected, identifications were done purely based on photographs and may not be 100% accurate. Thanks to Alvin Wong for suggestions on some of the IDs.

This page will be updated regularly, please let me know if you spot any mistakes.

View my complete Flickr photo set: Platerodrilus – Trilobite Beetles.

Class: Insecta Linnaeus, 1758

Order: Coleoptera Linnaeus, 1758

Family: Lycidae Laporte, 1836

Genus: Platerodrilus Pic, 1921

Trilobite beetle larvae (Platerodrilus ruficollis) - DSC_1811

Singapore: Platerodrilus ruficollis (Pic, 1942)

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_9481

Singapore: Platerodrilus ruficollis (Pic, 1942)

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_4215

West Malaysia: Platerodrilus sp. DSC_4215

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_2752

East Malaysia: Platerodrilus foliaceus Masek & Bocak, 2014

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_2983

East Malaysia: Platerodrilus sp. DSC_2983

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_9451

Singapore: Platerodrilus ngi Masek & Bocak, 2014

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_6050

West Malaysia: Platerodrilus sp. DSC_6050

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_3018

East Malaysia: Platerodrilus sp. DSC_3018

Trilobite beetle (Platerodrilus gr. paradoxus) - DSC_2984

East Malaysia: Platerodrilus gr. paradoxus Mjöberg, 1925
* This species has not been described but is provisionally placed in the P. paradoxus group.

Early Stages or Other Lycids
Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_9972

Singapore: Unidentified DSC_9972

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_8952

West Malaysia: Unidentified DSC_8952

Trilobite beetle larva hatchling? (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_2430

Singapore: Unidentified DSC_2430

Trilobite Beetle Close-Ups and Alternate Angles
Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_2028

Singapore: Platerodrilus ngi Masek & Bocak, 2014

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_2014

Singapore: Platerodrilus ngi Masek & Bocak, 2014

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus sp.) - DSC_7437

Singapore: Platerodrilus ngi Masek & Bocak, 2014

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus hoiseni) - DSC_9691

Singapore: Platerodrilus ruficollis (Pic, 1942)

Trilobite beetle larva (Platerodrilus ruficollis) - DSC_9344

Singapore: Platerodrilus ruficollis (Pic, 1942)

Trilobite beetle (Platerodrilus foliaceus) - DSC_8958

East Malaysia: Platerodrilus foliaceus Masek & Bocak, 2014 – Playing dead

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2 Comments
  1. Reply

    Luke Szwedziuk

    14 August 2020

    Hi,
    I am a huge fan of your work, both for its huge artistic and scientific value. I am a friend and colleague of Michael Geiser, at the Natural History Museum. I am currently a volunteer curator, however I am working on my own projects with the material in the museum, in particular the biogeography of Elateriformia and Cucujiformia. I mainly focus on Palearctic species, however, I have had projects on Namibian and Peruvian specimens. Your photograph titled Net-Winged Beetle larvae (Lycidae) DSC_7339, in the Flickr album 2014-03-08 Madai Track 15.5, of Lycid larvae are particularly interesting, might be the first time the family has ever recorded displaying any form of subsocial behaviour. Do you have any more field data regarding the other photographs i.e DSC_7331, DSC_7349 etc. To me it looked like they were feeding, do you have any ideas?
    Best Wishes
    Luke Szwedziuk

    • Reply

      Nicky Bay

      14 August 2020

      Hi Luke, thanks for leaving a note! I have no idea on the supposed sub-social behavior, but I guess it is similar to that of pentatomids where the nymphs (or larval forms in this case) tend to cluster together for safety in numbers until they reach a certain size.

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NICKY BAY
Singapore

Hi my name is Nicky Bay. I am a macro photographer, instructor and book author, travelling the world to document the vast micro biodiversity that nature has to offer. Follow my updates and discover with me the incredible beauty and science behind our planet's micro creatures!

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