Other predacious species include Lacon discoidea (Weber) and L. avita Say that 
are found in pines, and Hemicrepidus bilobatus (Say) that occurs in hickory. 
Crenicera triundulata (Randall) and C. nitidula (LeConte) have been observed 
feeding on cocoons of the European spruce sawfly in Canada (879), and an 
undetermined species of Crenicera was found feeding on the larch sawfly in 
Minnesota (332). 
Family Cleridae 
Checkered Beetles 
This is one of the most important families of insect predators attacking injurious 
forest insects. The adults are active, antlike, brightly colored, hairy beetles about 3 
to 13 mm long. They feed on adult beetles. The larvae live in the galleries and 
tunnels of bark beetles and wood borers and destroy the immature stages of these 
insects. 
Adults are distinguished by their I 1-jointed and generally serrate antennae, the 
outer joints of which are longer and form open or compact clubs. The tarsi are five- 
jointed and the first four joints bear membranous appendages. Larvae are soft- 
bodied, elongate and parallel-sided, frequently highly colored though often white 
and thin-textured, and are from 9 to 13 mm long. 
Most species spend the winter in the larval stage. Others overwinter as pupae or 
as adults in pupal cells in the bark. The larvae travel down the tunnels of their hosts 
eating one larva after another. Some are capable of consuming several times their 
own weight of these larvae (/4/). A few of the more important predators of forest 
insects are discussed below. 
Chariessa pilosa (Forster) is one of the most common species in eastern forests. 
Its known hosts include several species of borers in hardwoods, and the smaller 
European elm bark beetle. The adult (fig. 117) is a wedge-shaped, flattened beetle 
about 6 to 13 mm long. The thorax is red with two black stripes and the wing covers 
are black with dense, fine punctures. The larva is fairly robust, widest at the 
middle, and of a bluish tinge. Adults are often observed feeding on insects attracted 
to freshly cut logs during the summer. 
F-519949 
Figure 117.—Adult of Chariessa pilosa, 
a predator of wood-boring larvae. 
274 
