Heterhelus Jacquelin du Val, 1858

Hisamatsu, Sadatomo, 2011, A review of the Japanese Kateretidae fauna (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 51 (2), pp. 551-585 : 562-563

Genus Heterhelus Jacquelin du Val, 1858

Type species. Cercus sambuci Erichson, 1843 (= Heterhelus scutellaris ( Heer, 1841)) (original designation).

Diagnosis. Body oval, convex dorsally. Pronotum transverse, projecting at mid-length or uniformly rounded lateral margins; disc with punctures smaller than eye facet; posterior angles obtusely angulate; basal margin nearly straight or with slight curvature. Male abdominal tergite VIII externally visible. Tarsal claws simple. Ovipositor with long or short styli.

Bionomics. Inclusive species are associated with Sambucus ( SPORNRAFT 1967, KIRK- SPRIGGS 1996, AUDISIO 1993, JELÍNEK & CLINE 2010).

Distribution. Seven species are known worldwide. They are distributed in the Nearctic, Palaearctic, and Oriental Regions (S-T. HISAMATSU & LEE 2007, JELÍNEK & CLINE 2010).

Note. Palaearctic species were treated by several authors ( SPORNRAFT 1967, KIREJTSHUK 1992, AUDISIO 1993, KIRK- SPRIGGS 1996). Nearctic species were studied by PARSONS (1943), and are currently under revision (Cline & Audisio, pers. comm.). Boreades Parsons, 1943 was synonymized under Heterhelus ( AUDISIO 1993, JELÍNEK & AUDISIO 2007). S-T. HISAMATSU & LEE (2007) described Taiwanoheterhelus S-T. Hisamatsu & Lee, 2007 as a subgenus of Heterhelus , and treated Boreades as a valid subgenus of Heterhelus as well.