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The ant beetle (''Thanasimus formicarius''), also known as European Red-bellied Clerid, is a medium size insect, rather soft-bodied, with strong mandibles that can tear between the hard sclerotized integument of bark beetles. Larvae and adults are common predators of bark beetles in Europe. == Life cycle == The adults overwinter at the base of conifers, rarely of deciduous trees. They emerge in the spring and fly to lower parts of trees to hunt bark beetles. Their common prey are pine bark beetles ''Tomicus piniperda'' and ''T. minor'', and the European spruce bark beetle, ''Ips typographus''. Often they are seen waiting their prey on the bark of fallen pine or spruce trees. Both ant beetles and bark beetles are attracted to monoterpenes from the damaged areas of the fallen trees. Stacked wood is especially attractive due to the monoterpene volatiles. The ant beetles are also attracted to specific pheromone components of bark beetles therefore they often fall into bark beetle pheromone traps.〔N.J. Mills, "The natural enemies of scolytids infesting conifer bark in Europe in relation to the biological control of Dendroctonus spp. in Canada", Biocontrol News and Information, Vol. 4, Issue 4, pp. 305-328, 1983.〕 The larvae enter the scolytid galleries and feed on the immature stages of the bark beetles. The larvae, grows very slowly (spends two years in the larval stage), and pupate, in the fall. In niches in the outer bark. Adults of T. formicarius live 4 to 10 months.〔R. Gauss, “Der Ameisenbuntkäfer Thanasimus formicarius Latr.als Borkenkäferfeind,” pp. 417-429 in G. Wellenstein (ed.), Die grosse Borkenkäferkalamität in Südwest-Deutschland 1944-1951,1954.〕 Males and females mate repeatedly, with different many partners throughout the season. Mating is short, and the copulation precedes a chase and a firm grasp of the female with the male mandibles on her pronotum.〔R. Gauss, “Der Ameisenbuntkäfer Thanasimus formicarius Latr. als Borkenkäferfeind,” pp. 417-429 in G. Wellenstein (ed.), Die grosse Borkenkäferkalamität in Südwest-Deutschland 1944-1951, 1954.〕〔()〕 The females lay eggs from April to June. Usually they produce 20 to 30 eggs that they lay in bark crevices and in the vicinity of the bark of pine trees running tunnel of the bark beetle. The pink-colored larvae hatch after about a week and live under the bark, where they are predators of bark beetle larvae, eggs and pupae, but also feed on other insects living under the bark. In pursuit of their prey, they are also very quick and very skilled at moving the bark beetle corridors, where they can run backwards. Before pupation, the larvae form an oval chamber which they line with mucus under the bark. The following spring the beetles emerge.〔Bohumil Starý, Pavel Bezdecka, Miroslav Capek, Petr Starý, Georg Benz, et al.: Atlas der nützlichen Forstinsekten. Ferdinand Enke, Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-432-97121-4, S. 37 u. 76〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Thanasimus formicarius」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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