Latridiidae Erichson, 1842

Berx, Peter, Bosmans, Bart, Dekoninck, Wouter, Janssen, Marc, Stassen, Eugène & Crevecoeur, Luc, 2023, Faunistic survey of myrmecophilous and other ant-associated beetles and spiders in the Belgian province of Limburg (Araneae, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 141, pp. 1-61 : 20

Latridiidae Erichson, 1842

From this family, we have retained nine species that are associated with ants (Annex) and for five of them we could confirm the relationship ( Table 13). These small beetles are associated with wood-inhabiting fungi and are mostly found under bark and decaying wood. This makes their presence in the vicinity of the xylobiont ants obvious. Nevertheless, several species have been recorded in association with wood ants (Annex). In Bulgaria, samples of anthills were extracted with Tullgren funnels and the presence of Dienerella vincenti ( Fig. 16) in the nests of F. pratensis was confirmed. In the same study the association between Corticaria longicollis (2.3-2.6 mm) (Annex) with F. pratensis and F. rufa was demonstrated ( LAPEVA-GJONOVA & RÜCKER, 2011). With 523 records from 80 UTM 1 x 1 km grids, the mould-feeding Cartodere nodifer (1.2-2.1 mm) is the most ubiquitous species throughout Limburg from this family. This beetle is native to Australia, but as a cosmopolitan it is now known worldwide as a food pest, attracted by fungi that develop during spoilage. The species is common in the wild on and under moist substrates where it feeds on the fungi. Although this beetle is widespread and does not make high demands on the food supply, until now the only ant-association reported, is in the vicinity of L. brunneus .