histerid

noun

1. Any of the numerous beetles in the family Histeridae; a clown beetle.

   “Later, mostly in the 1950s, eight more histerid species were imported into Hawaii to attack the horn fly, of which four became established, including Pachylister caffer (Erichson) (Legner, 1978; Funasaki et al, 1988).”

   “Histerids are mainly predators of soft-bodied insect larvae and eggs, particularly those of cyclorraphan^([sic – meaning cyclorrhaphan]) Diptera.”

   “Histerids are scavengers and predators in decomposing organic material such as animal carcasses.”