Bug FAQForked Fungus Beetle
Bolitotherus cornutus · Order: Coleoptera · Family: Tenebrionidae
Also called: Broad-horned Flour Beetle, broadhorned flour beetle
Adult forked fungus beetles are brown, armored insects about 10 to 12 mm long and males have two pairs of horns while females have none. They live across eastern North America wherever Ganoderma shelf fungi grow, from Canada down to Florida. Both adults and larvae feed almost exclusively on Ganoderma fungus, and females lay 8 to 12 eggs each season between June and August.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males have two sets of horns; females lack horns.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They occur in many climates but are limited to areas with Ganoderma fungus.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults eat mainly Ganoderma shelf fungus; larvae also consume the egg they hatch from and the fungus they are raised in.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species has two brood groups and can first reproduce in its second summer.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Females lay 8 to 12 eggs per season, only between June and August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Their range is eastern North America, from Canada to Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 41 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Florida, Wisconsin, Texas, Illinois.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do male and female forked fungus beetles look different?
Males have two pairs of horns, while females have none.
Source: Wikipedia
When do forked fungus beetles lay eggs?
Eggs are laid from June through August, usually 8 to 12 per season.
Source: Wikipedia
What do forked fungus beetle larvae eat?
Larvae feed on the egg they hatch from and the Ganoderma fungus they grow in.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find forked fungus beetles?
They live in eastern North America wherever Ganoderma shelf fungi are present, from Canada to Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Tenebrionidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolitotherus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.