Family Cantharidae

Bodenheimer (Animal Life in Palestine, 1935) has this to say about this family:
In the soft-winged beetles (Cantharidae) the elytra are soft and flexible. All Cantharidae appear in the spring and are, as a rule, carnivorous throughout their life. The pale red-brown Cantharis livida and the red-brown black Rhagonycha nigritarsis are numerous on the ridges of fields and on the meadows. The smaller sun-loving species of Malachius and Hypebaeus, of beautiful metallic green and red coloration, are quite common on the flowers of umbels and composites in the spring.

From Wikipedia:
The soldier beetles, or Cantharidae are relatively soft-bodied, straight sided beetles, related to the Lampyridae or firefly family, but being unable to produce light. One common British species is bright red, reminding people of the red coats of soldiers, hence the common name. A secondary common name is leatherwing, obtained from the texture of the wing covers.
Soldier beetles are highly desired by gardeners as biological control agents of a number of pest insects. The larvae tend to be dark brown or gray, slender and wormlike with a rippled appearance due to pronounced segmentation. They consume grasshopper eggs, aphids, caterpillars and other soft bodied insects, most of which are pests.
The adults are especially important predators of aphids. They supplement their diet with nectar and pollen and can be minor pollinators. Soldier beetle populations can be increased by planting good nectar- or pollen-producing plants such as Asclepias or Solidago.

Species	Reference source	Collection
Malthinus axillaris Kiesenwetter, 1852	Bodenheimer, 1937
Malthinus caifensis Pic	Bodenheimer, 1937
Malthinus longithorax Pic	Bodenheimer, 1937
Malthinus pici Wittmer, 1971	Chikatunov et al, 1999
Malthinus sahlbergi Pic, 1909	Bodenheimer, 1937 Chikatunov et al, 1999
Malthinus syriacus Marseul, 1877	Chikatunov et al, 1999
Malthinus trigibbei brevinolaticeps Pic	Bodenheimer, 1937

Subfamily: Malthininae

Tribe: Malthodini

Species	Reference source	Collection
Malthodes acutipygus Wittmer, 1973	Chikatunov et al, 1999
Malthodes berytensis Reiche, 1857	Bytinski-Salz & Sternlicht, 1967
Malhtodes carmelicus Wittmer, 1966	Chikatunov et al, 1999
Malthodes palaestinus Pic	Bodenheimer, 1937
Malthodes toketensis Pic	Bodenheimer, 1937
Malthodes tropidopygus Pic	Bodenheimer, 1937

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