Beetles - Parasitic Beetles

Throughout the world, beetles have evolved parasitic relationships with a wide variety of animals, feeding on epidermal secretions and the hair of vertebrate hosts. The small beetle Leptinus testaceus of Britain is sometimes found living on the fur of voles and mice, and has also been found in bees' nests. The American species of this beetle, L. americanus, is also found on small rodents. Another North American member of this genus, L. validus, is an ectoparasite of the common beaver; and L. aplodontiae is an ectoparasite of the mountain beaver. Two South American species, Uroxys gorgon and Trichillium brachyporum, in the Scarabaeidae family live in the fur of the three-toed sloth, while the Australian genus Macropocopris lives in the fur of kangaroos.