Matthew L. Gimmel

The Beetle Community of Small Oak Twigs in Louisiana, with a Literature Review of Coleoptera from Fine Woody Debris

Abstract We conducted a study to explore which beetles utilize dead twigs in a Louisiana secondary forest and the effect of debris position on the beetle community. Twigs averaging 14 mm in diameter from one tree of Quercus falcata Michaux (southern red oak) were placed randomly into bundles of ten. At each of three sites, three bundles were laid on the ground, three were propped at the base of a living tree, and three were tied tightly above the ground against the branch of a living woody plant. The bundles were collected 10 months later and each was placed into an emergence chamber. More than 400 adult Coleoptera specimens were collected, representing 35 species within 16 families. Cerambycidae (longhorn beetles) and Curculionidae (weevils) exhibited the highest species richness, with nine and five species, respectively. Species richness was significantly different among treatments. Bundles placed on the ground had the lowest richness, aboveground bundles had the highest, and propped bundles were intermediate. Twelve species (34%) were represented by singletons.

General Overview of Saproxylic Coleoptera

A broad survey of saproxylic beetles (Coleoptera) from literature and personal observations was conducted, and extensive references were included to serve as a single resource on the topic. Results are summarized in a table featuring all beetle families and subfamilies with saproxylicity indicated for both adults and larvae (where known), along with information on diversity, distribution, habits, habitat, and other relevant notes. A discussion about the prevalence of and evolutionary origins of beetles in relation to the saproxylic habitat, as well as the variety of saproxylic beetle habits by microhabitat, is provided. This initial attempt at an overview of the entire order shows that 122 (about 65%) of the 187 presently recognized beetle families have at least one saproxylic member. However, the state of knowledge of most saproxylic beetle groups is extremely fragmentary, particularly in regard to larval stages and their feeding habits.

Season of Fine Woody Debris Death Affects Colonization of Saproxylic Coleoptera

Abstract n A study was conducted to explore the effect of season on colonization of dead twigs by beetles in a Louisiana secondary forest. Previous research showed that twigs cut during spring yielded many specimens and species. The present companion study utilized twigs averaging 14 mm in diameter cut from one tree of Quercus falcata Michaux (southern red oak) during fall (October) 2008, placed in bundles of 10 each, and left in the forest at three sites. Half the bundles were retrieved during winter (January, four months later) and the other half were retrieved during summer (July, nine months later). Coleoptera were collected from bundles using emergence chambers. Only 39 specimens of adult Coleoptera were collected, representing 12 families, 20 genera, and 21 species. Beetle colonization of oak twigs in Louisiana appears to be affected by the interaction of season and twig “quality” (apparently freshness) with the highest colonization taking place in fresh, dead twigs during spring and an order of magnitude lower colonization in 1) fresh twigs during fall or 2) stale twigs during spring and summer.

New Synonymies and Range Extension for North American Thoracophorus Motschulsky (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Osoriinae)

The first author became interested in the genus Thoracophorus Motschulsky after collecting and curating 882 specimens during research (Ferro and Carlton 2011) associated with the Coleoptera component of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory that took place in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Carlton and Bayless 2007). All of the specimens were identified as Thoracophorus costalis (Erichson) based on illustrations and descriptions (Horn 1871; Irmler 1985) and comparison to authoritatively identified specimens. However, obtaining materials representing other nominal species of North American Thoracophorus proved difficult. No key to the species of Thoracophorus in North America exists. Horn (1871) provided a diagnosis and illustrations to differentiate T. costalis from his Thoracophorus brevicristatus, which he described under thegenusGlyptomaErichson.Twoother species have been described from America north of Mexico, Thoracophorus longicollis Motschulsky, 1860 from “Nouvelle-Orléans” (=New Orleans, Louisiana) and Thoracophorus fletcheri Wendeler, 1927 from Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota (Fletcher 1930). We examined the type series of T. longicollis housed in the Zoological Museum of Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia (ZMUM). The type series consists of four specimens glued to an elongate rectangular card. Motschulsky did not designate a holotype. We hereby designate the specimen furthest from the pin the lectotype, and a red dot was placed on the card next to this specimen. Motschulsky (1860) anticipated that this may be a southern variant of T. costalis within his description. We also examined the holotype of T. fletcheri housed in the Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität, Berlin, Germany (ZMHB). Examination of the type material of T. longicollis and T. fletcheri revealed both to be indistinguishable from T. costalis. Details of the sculpturing of the head and pronotum (important for species recognition in the genus) and other aspects of external morphology are identical. Therefore, Thoracophorus longicollis Motschulsky, 1860 and Thoracophorus fletcheri Wendeler, 1927 are new junior synonyms of Thoracophorus costalis (Erichson, 1840). While examining specimens of Thoracophorus in the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum, we found two specimens of T. brevicristatus collected in Louisiana. Blackwelder (1943) listed this species as having been collected in Florida and Arizona in America north of Mexico. Here we report T. brevicristatus in Louisiana as a new state record. Specimen label information is as follows:USA: LA: East Baton Rouge Parish, Baton Rouge, 12 Dec 1990, M. Sean Strother, under bark of dead sugarberry Celtis laevigata Willd.; Assumption Parish, Pierre Part, n. Lake Verret, 30 Dec 1992, D. R. Ganaway, coll. in rotten log. Thoracophorus brevicristatus is also found throughout the West Indies (Blackwelder 1943; Irmler 1985), so the discovery of specimens midway between continental populations is not unexpected. Irmler (2010) reported that T. brevicristatus is an inquiline of termites.

First Record of Scolytogenes jalapae (Letzner) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Louisiana, U.S.A.

A local collecting event, the third annual Mad Dog Marathon (see Gimmel and Ferro 2010), was held from 10 am 18 June through 10 am 19 June 2011 on the campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. While collecting during the event, MLG discovered that dead, dry morning glory stems (Ipomoea sp., Convolvulaceae) were a productive microhabitat from which to collect beetles. Subsequent collections by the authors revealed the presence of the scolytine Scolytogenes jalapae (Letzner) (Fig. 1), previously only reported in the United States from Florida (Wood 2007). Here we report S. jalapae in Louisiana as a new state record. Specimen label data are as follows (all specimens deposited in the Louisiana State Arthropod Museum, Baton Rouge, LA): USA: LA: East Baton Rouge Parish, Baton Rouge, LSU campus, 24 June 2011, M. L. Gimmel and C. A. Maier cols., dead morning glory stalks (n = 10); 4150 Janet Ave. N 30.4029°, W 91.1762°, 26 June 2011, ex. dead dry morning glory stalks, M. Ferro (n = 4); LSU campus, N 30.40939°, W 91.18286°, 28 June 2011, ex. dead dry morning glory stalks, M. Ferro (n = 50). Wood (2007) considered S. jalapae to be a widely introduced species with an unknown origin. He reported it from southern Florida and Mexico to the West Indies, Panama, Venezuela, Brazil, and Japan. A single specimen of S. jalapae was collected in San Antonio, Texas by J. Blasizzo on 9 November 2010 (identified as Scolytogenes knabi Hopkins) and confirmed by the USDA-ARS Systematic Entomology Laboratory. It may have come from imported wood packing material and was not considered a new state record. This genus superficially resembles Hypothenemus Westwood, but can be separated by the possession of the following characters: lateral margins of pronotum without fine raised line, eye entire, costal margins ascending only slightly posteriorly (Wood 1982). Since the stalks of small dehiscent vines are easily overlooked, S. jalapae may be more widespread than current records indicate. The circumstances surrounding the discovery of this species illustrate the importance of continued general insect collecting events, even in urban areas.

Enneboeus marmoratus Champion New to the USA, with a World Catalog of the Family Archeocrypticidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea)

Abstract The Neotropical species Enneboeus marmoratus Champion, 1893 is reported from the USA based on the collection of three specimens in urban San Francisco, California, representing a new country record for the species. Additional specimens were observed and photographed at the same locality on various dates during August to October 2017. This is likely a recent introduction, and its level of establishment is unknown. This also represents the first record of Archeocrypticidae from California. Additional records of the only other known North American (north of Mexico) species, Enneboeus caseyi Kaszab, 1981, are provided. A world catalog of this small group of beetles is included.

On the identity of Sternosternus grouvellei Guillebeau, 1894 (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae, Phalacridae)

The genus Sternosternus Guillebeau, 1894 was described as an aberrant taxon of the family Phalacridae from Sumatra, based on the unique morphology of its meso- and metaventrite resembling those of Cetonia aurata Linnaeus, 1758 (Guillebeau 1894). It contained the single species, S. grouvellei Guillebeau, 1894, known from a single specimen. The identity of Sternosternus was long unclear, and nothing was published on the genus until Gimmel (2013) studied the type specimen and recognized it actually belonged to the family Hydrophilidae, likely being a member of the genus Dactylosternum Wollaston, 1854.

Taxonomic Notes on Olibroporus Casey and Pycinus Guillebeau (Coleoptera: Phalacridae), with Diagnosis and Distribution of the Widespread Species Olibroporus punctatus Casey

Abstract The widespread New World species Olibroporus punctatus Casey, 1890 is diagnosed and illustrated using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and its geographic distribution is mapped. Olibroporus grouvellei (Guillebeau, 1894) (originally in Parasemus Guillebeau) is considered a new junior synonym of O. punctatus. Based on further examination of specimens from the Neotropics, Pycinus Guillebeau, 1893 is reevaluated to be a new junior synonym of Olibroporus Casey, resulting in 12 new combinations. Novel structures imaged using SEM are discussed, and a general discussion of rampant genus-level synonymy in the Phalacridae follows.

Book Review Hogue, C. L. Revised AND EDITED BY J. N. Hogue. 2015. INSECTS OF THE LOS ANGELES BASIN, THIRD EDITION. Preface by Brian V. Brown. Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA. 474 pp. ISBN-13: 978-0938644293. US

The latest edition of this now-classic entomological title, newly adorned by a bordered mantid, is this reviewer’s great pleasure upon which to report. The book is a one-stop guide to answer the basic “What is it?” and “What does it do?” enquiries emerging from entomological encounters in the greater Los Angeles area. The title is somewhat misleading, since the book contains arachnid, myriapod, and terrestrial crustacean sections that are more than an afterthought, and even a short section on other invertebrates. It includes about 450 species accounts (covering over 10% of the total estimated fauna based on the authors’ comments) and purports to be useful across southern coastal California from Santa Barbara to San Diego. Expectedly, the focus of the book is on frequently encountered, conspicuous, or important (especially household pest) arthropods of the LA Basin, but a few with unique or particularly interesting life histories are thrown in for good measure—the petroleum fly wins the prize in this latter category. As the second edition, it is a sturdy paperback, handsomely and cleanly bound with a “faux” dustjacket cover. The book is richly illustrated throughout, with all 500 or so photographs and drawings embedded in the text rather than arranged into plates. It is divided into five parts separated by pages of sturdy cardstock: Introduction, Insects, Arachnids, Other Terrestrial Invertebrates, and Appendices. There are 21 chapters corresponding to orders or other higher taxonomic groups. There is even a healthy list of references at the end of each chapter for readers interested in delving deeper into the biology and taxonomy of the beasts they discover in the guide. Short, snappy appendices discuss pests, insect care, and the basics of making an insect collection. The authors write of the understandable difficulties associated with creating a guide for a region constantly bombarded with new introductions. Well, as a new introduction to California myself, I am constantly reaching for this guide. Being in a position in which I receive almost daily “What’s this bug?” inquiries, I often find myself scrambling to reach and flip through this book with one hand while holding the phone with the other (and it is indeed useful for my area, about 80 miles up the coast from the Basin). Of course, it does not always provide all the answers, but puts me on the right track most of the time by zeroing in on what critters are the most likely suspects. Perhaps most valuable for my purposes are the life history tidbits, wonderful for quick reference when, for instance, I cannot remember the common host plants of the buckeye butterfly. I’m happy that such an accessible, all-inone guide such as this exists. As is usual in this type of work, Lepidoptera receive the most attention and real estate at 86 pages. The authors can hardly be faulted for that; Lepidoptera are the most readily observed order of insects DOI.org/10.1649/0010-065X-70.4.816

34.95. Available directly from the publisher: shop.nhm.org/a301/insects-of-the-los-angeles-basin.html.

ABSTRACT The Malagasy endemic genus Nesiotus Guillebeau is revised. Seven species are recognized, including six newly described herein: Nesiotus basalis Gimmel, new species, Nesiotus fisheri Gimmel, new species, Nesiotus joebranhami Gimmel, new species, Nesiotus nocitus Gimmel, new species, Nesiotus ocularis Gimmel, new species, and Nesiotus steineri Gimmel, new species. All species are illustrated, distributions mapped, and a key is provided. A checklist of described Malagasy Phalacridae is also given.