Summary ²

Ptiliidae is a family of very tiny beetles with a cosmopolitan distribution. This family contains the smallest of all beetles, with a length when fully grown of 0.3–4.0 millimetres (0.01–0.16 in). The weight is approximately 0.4 milligrams. They are colloquially called featherwing beetles, because the hindwings are narrow and feathery. The eggs are very large in comparison to the adult female (maybe half the length) so only one egg at a time can be developed and laid.Parthenogenesis is...

SoCal Status ³

Known Species per The California Beetle Database .
Acrotrichis josephi
Acrotrichis xanthocera
Motschulskium sinuaticolle
Ptenidium pullum
Smicrus filicornis

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Udo Schmidt, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/30703260@N08/3887607540
2. Adapted by BJ Stacey from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptiliidae
3. (c) BJ Stacey, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

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