Subclasses
There are four subclasses of Histeridae that are predators worth mentioning. These subclasses are known as:
1. Dendrobites
They have two common body shapes. The first type has a flatter shape; the second has a more cylindrical appearance. The former usually lives near tree barks. This is because the prey they feed on, fly eggs, are found near tree bark. The latter also feed on insects and prefer to live in a forested area. Species of the cylindrical Dendrobites usually hunt prey that is unique for that species.
2. Geobiotes
This subclass is the most diverse and the largest of the Hister predator subclasses. The Geobites body structures are generally circular, and they are known for their digging tendencies. This subclass is separated into five more divisions. The members of this subclass live anywhere from the soil, desert, and coast to caves, mammalian burrows, and vegetation. They live in accordance with where their prey lives. One division of the Geobiote feeds on maggots and eggs that are found in forest vegetation or in carrion. Naturally, this Geobiote is found in heavily forested areas. The second and third division hunts for arthropods that feed on dead plant matter. Thus, these types of Geobiotes are found in the sand and burrowed in soil. The fourth type of Geobiotes feed on fly eggs that grow on fresh dung. This division of Geobiotes is found near animal homes such as nests and burrows. The last type of Geobiotes lives in caves. They feed on the mites and other arthropods that occupy the vegetation and fungi found there. This type of Geobiote is known to include species that become blind.
3. Microhisterids
This subclass is the smallest of the four. They live on plant litter and feed on the tiny arthropods found there. Microhisterids, like all other Histeridae, become specialized to hunt their prey and live in their habitats. Like the fifth division of Geobiotes, some Microhisterids are known to be blind as well.
4. Inquilines
This division consists of those Histeridae that live in close proximity with social colonies of arthropods such as ants and termites. Histeridae that live near ants can live in a harmonious or hostile relationship. The hostile Hister beetles feed on the ants. The harmonious Hister beetles eat the same food as the ants, however they may not be in direct competition for the food. These beetles have an excretory organ that produces an odor telling the ants they mean no harm.
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