page_title: Cleridae
section_title: Medico-legal entomology
hierarchical_section_title: Cleridae / Forensic relevance / Medico-legal entomology
caption_attribution_description: English: Thanasimus dubius attacking bark beetle prey.
context_page_description: Cleridae are a family of beetles of the superfamily Cleroidea. They are commonly known as checkered beetles. The family Cleridae has a worldwide distribution, and a variety of habitats and feeding preferences.
  Cleridae have many niches and feeding habits. Most genera are predaceous and feed on other beetles and larvae; however other genera are scavengers or pollen feeders. Clerids have elongated bodies with bristly hairs, are usually bright colored, and have variable antennae. Checkered beetles range in length between 3 millimeters and 24 millimeters. Cleridae can be identified based on their 5–5–5 tarsal formula, division of sternites, and the absence of a special type of vesicle. Female Cleridae lay between 28–42 eggs at a time predominately under the bark of trees. Larvae are predaceous and feed vigorously before pupation and subsequently emergence as adults.
  Clerids have a minor significance in forensic entomology. Some species are occasionally found on carrion in the later dry stages of decay. Also, some species are pests and are found infesting various food products. Research efforts related to Cleridae have focused primarily on using certain species as biological controls.
context_section_description: Since clerids are predaceous in nature, they have been found feeding on fly larvae as well as the skin and bones of carrion. Most clerids are not useful in forensics because of their food choice, but some species such as Necrobia rufipes can be useful. Necrobia rufipes is attracted towards carrion in the later stages of decomposition, so its arrival on carrion can help provide an estimate for the post-mortem interval or PMI. Although the checkered beetle is not the most significant insect on carrion, the beetles predaceous nature and its ability to reproduce in carrion that is exposed to the environment provides some forensic importance.
caption: Thanasimus dubius attacking bark beetle prey
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