This rove beetle, Platydracus mysticus, is quite a rare one that Adam found here. It is possibly decreasing in numbers due to competition with introduced rove beetles. Photo by Dave Cheung.

The Rove Beetle Family is the most diverse family of organisms on the planet; over 58 000 species have been found and that is likely less than half of the number that occur. These beetles fill many different niches, but are most commonly found in leaf litter, on decaying plants and animals, under rocks, and even in your basement.

Rove beetles can be identified by their short elytra (the cases that cover their wings). Most beetles have elytra that cover most of their bodies, but the short elytra of rove beetles allow us to easily see their abdomens.

Adam Brunke did his MSc study here at the Univeristy of Guelph and he studied rove beetle diversity. He could be found searching our compost heaps quite often in search of his beetle prey. As a result, he compiled an impressive list of rove beetles for our site. Click here [1] to view Adam's list. Adam produced a key to rove beetles of Eastern Canada which can be seen here [2].

Adam is still studying rove beetles but is now at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. Thanks, Adam!