Relationships of darkling beetles in the subfamily Phrenapatinae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) are poorly known. Meaningful comparative studies are hampered by the fact that morphological structures of adults typically used for assessing relationships within Tenebrionidae cannot be used successfully in this group because they are either absent or extremely reduced. The pupal stage of twelve species in eight genera of Phrenapatinae is presented here. A description (or redescription) is given for each species. An identification key to the known Phrenapatinae pupae of the world is included. The usefulness of pupal characters to test generic and tribal limits within the subfamily is assessed. Preliminary results based on an assessment of pupal structures indicate that the current tribal classification needs to be reassessed.