【Stenus beetle】Metallic blue Peruvian rove beetle specimen, Stenus beetle, rove beetle

Scientific Name: Staphylinidae sp.

Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) are a general term for insects belonging to the family Staphylinidae of the superfamily Staphylinoidea in the order Coleoptera. The name comes from the fact that many species have small forewings, under which large hindwings are folded and hidden.

In most species, the elytra (forewings) are very small, and the hindwings are small and cleverly folded underneath. This leaves most of the abdomen exposed, making them appear at first glance like wingless insects such as short-winged earwigs or ants. However, most species actually have functional hindwings and fly well when necessary. After landing, they fold their hindwings again and hide them, returning to their wingless appearance. This is why they are called hane-kakushi (wing-hiding). They are famous for their immense diversity, with the number of species in this family being second only to the weevil family (Curculionidae) in the entire animal kingdom. Over 58,000 species in several thousand genera are known worldwide, but it is believed that there are actually over 100,000 species, and it is highly likely that there are hundreds of undescribed species in Japan alone. They have a long history, with fossils dating back to the Triassic period, approximately 200 million years ago.

This family boasts an enormous number of known species, 58,000 worldwide (as of 2013), accounting for about 15% of the approximately 370,000 known species in the order Coleoptera.

We apologize, but we cannot offer a guarantee against degradation due to shipping.
We will ship the individual pictured from Sudadero, Madre de Dios, Peru. It was collected in December 2022.
My measurement of the head-body length was 22mm.