The Ant-like stone beetle reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004
(provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

Ant-like stone beetle

For thoughtful child sponsors
ant-like stone beetles
(image here)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Subclass:Pterygota
Superorder:Neoptera
Order:Coleoptera
Suborder:Polyphaga
Family:Scydmaenidae
Genera
(80, see text)

The ant-like stone beetles are a family (Scydmaenidae) of beetles. These are small beetles (0.6-2.7mm), and many of the species have necks and a narrowing between thorax and abdomen, resulting in a passing resemblance to ants that inspires their common name.

Scydmaenids typically live in leaf litter and rotting logs in forests, preferring moist habitats. A number of types are known to feed or oribatid mites, using "hole scraping" and "cutting" techniques to get through the mite's hard shells.

These beetles occur worldwide, and the family includes about 4,500 species in 80 genera.

Reference