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Checkered Beetles and Allies - Superfamily: Cleroidea
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Considered one of the 'smaller' superfamilies amongst the beetles with 'only' some 10,000 species. Many of them are predacious on other beetles or their larvae and therefore are considered an important form of biological control of certain pest species. There are, worldwide some 18 families within the superfamily only six of which can be found in Australia. All six Australian families may be seen in the Northern Rivers. The Cleridae is amongst the largest of these 18 families with some 2,500 species but there are also some families with only a smattering of member species or even just a single one as is the case with the Australian family Acanthocnemidae. Members of this superfamily are found around the globe with the exception of the polar regions.
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