First record of the beetle family Biphyllidae (Coleoptera) in Korea

The Biphyllidae including four species, Biphyllus lewisi (Reitter), B. marmoratus (Reitter), B. rufopictus (Wollaston) and B. throscoides (Wollaston), are discovered for the first time in Korea. A key, habitus photographs and illustrations of diagnostic characters of the species are presented.     

First record of the family Hygrobiidae (Coleoptera: Adephaga) from Turkey

With the discovery of Hygrobia hermanni, the family Hygrobiidae is reported for the first time from Turkey. An illustration of the habitus and line drawings of diagnostic characters are provided.     

First record of the family Bothrideridae (Coleoptera) in Korea represented by the wood-boring beetle ectoparasite,Dastarcus helophoroides

The ectoparasitic beetle, Dastarcus helophoroides (Fairmaire), was observed for the first time in Korea as a result of a study of the natural enemies of Monochamus alternatus Hope and M. saltuarius Gebler, the vector of the pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner & Buhner)). Diagnostic illustrations are provided and the biology and host range of D. helophoroides (Fairmaire) are reviewed.     

Edaphic beetle (Insecta: Coleoptera) diversity over a forest-matrix gradient in a tropical rainforest

Species from natural communities show different capacities for moving across contrasting habitats, and they may gradually respond along the transition between forests and anthropogenic areas. Because beetles are effective bioindicators, we analyzed the Coleoptera assemblage structure in the transition between sugarcane matrices and forest fragment. The study was conducted in an Atlantic rainforest fragment and sugarcane matrices after 2 and 6 months of replantation. Beetles were sampled in linear transects that were 50, 100, and 200 m from the forest edge and toward both forest core and matrices. We analyzed beetle abundance, species richness and composition, and diversity numbers. The abundance and species richness were higher in the forest, and species richness was higher at the sampling site 100 m inside the forest than at the gradients within the sugarcane matrices. The species composition differed between the forest and matrices, but not between the matrices with different replantation ages. Alpha diversity based on the number of species was higher in the forest, and alpha diversity based on the Shannon index was higher in the forest and matrix after 6 months of replantation. Our results suggest that the sugarcane matrices, chiefly the matrix after 2 months of replantation, sustain an impoverished beetle assemblage when compared with the forest fragment. Despite the strong habitat distinction, the beetle fauna in the sugarcane matrices was not affected by the horizontal distance from the forest. Here, we have highlighted the importance of forest fragments embedded in harsh matrices for the maintenance of biodiversity.     

First record of the beetle Osphranteria coerulescens Redtenbacher, 1850 (Coleoptera,Cerambycidae) from Turkey

Abstract

The beetle Osphranteria coerulescens, until now known only from a few places in Iran and in Syria is reported from four sites in Eastern Turkey.     

New beetles (Insecta,Coleoptera) from the Lower Triassic of European Russia

Fossil remains of beetles are described from two Lower Triassic localities: Entala (Induan) and Tikhvinskoe (Olenekian). Only one beetle fossil was previously known from the Lower Triassic of Tikhvinskoe. The fossils are rather few and poorly preserved, but they are worth describing as finds rare for the Lower Triassic. Five fossils from Entala most probably belong to beetles of the same species of the formal genus Pseudochrysomelites. Beetles of this genus are especially abundant in deposits close to the Permian–Triassic boundary and can be considered “disaster taxa.” There are no known cases, either in the Permian or in the Middle–Upper Triassic, of a random sample of five specimens belonging to a single species. This suggests that in the Entala oryctocenosis the species diversity of beetles is extremely low. All three beetle fossils found in Tikhvinskoe belong to beetles of different species, showing that diversity had already started to increase. However, it remained low, and all fossils belong to the formal family Schizocoleidae, and two of the three belong to the same genus, Pseudochrysomelites. The Khei-Yaga locality, which immediately follows Tikhvinskoe in time (topmost Olenekian or early Anisian), already contains beetles of the families Asiocoleidae and Permosynidae. In the Lower Anisian of the Buntsandstein, such typical Mesozoic beetles as Cupedidae and Coptoclavidae have been recorded. The appearance of such advanced beetles as early as the Lower Anisian suggests that the famous Permian–Triassic crisis was not as deep as it is usually believed, and many beetles survived it, disappearing, however, from the fossil record in the Early Triassic.     

First report of an attractant for a tumbling flower beetle (Coleoptera: Mordellidae)

In 2004 and 2005, large numbers of the tumbling flower beetle, Falsomordellistena bihamata (Melsheimer), were found on traps baited with sweet birch oil, whereas significantly fewer individuals were found on control traps. In both years, peak captures were at 680 DD10 degrees C. Trapping was conducted in Naugatuck State Forest in Naugatuck, CT. Little is known about the ecology and biology of the tumbling flower beetles (Coleoptera: Mordellidae), and the larval food plant for this species is not known. Thus, we cannot say why the beetle is attracted to sweet birch oil. Sweet birch oil is approximately 99.8% methyl salicylate (MeSA). MeSA is found constitutively in large quantities in some plants, but it is also an important signal in, and product of, plant stress-response pathways. MeSA has been found to attract both herbivores that need stressed plants as food and natural enemies of herbivores in stressed plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report of mass trapping of a tumbling flower beetle. Fuller understanding of the phenomenon awaits further study.     

元谋干热河谷不同人工林中鞘翅目甲虫多样性比较

在元谋干热河谷采用网扫法调查了云南松林、桉树林、新银合欢林、桉树＋新银合欢林、印楝林及多树种混交的人工林鞘翅目昆虫多样性。结果表明,鞘翅目甲虫标本925号,计71种,分属18个科,其中叶甲科种类最丰富,象甲科数量最丰富。人工林鞘翅目昆虫群落物种丰富度在7～23,Shannon—Wiener多样性指数在1．249～2．562,昆虫多样性总体较低。各样地鞘翅目群落之间为不相似水平。云南松林鞘翅目昆虫群落物种丰富度、Shannon—Wiener指数、Simpson指数及Pielou指数分别为20、2．562、0．104和0．855,其多样性最高,多树种混交林较高,印楝林较低,而桉树林、新银合欢林、桉树＋新银合欢林多样性极低。多树种混交的恢复对昆虫多样性提高有显著促进作用。     

The first record of anthribid beetle from the Jurassic of Kazakhstan (Coleoptera: Anthribidae)

A new subfamily, Juranthribinae, new genera Juranthribus and Karanthribus, and new species Juranthribus thompsoni and Karanthribus primitivus are described from the Middle-Upper Jurassic of Karatau. This is the earliest known record of anthribids.     

New and poorly known Cenozoic clown beetle compressions from France (Insecta: Coleoptera: Histeridae)

Summary

Two French fossil Histeridae are described or revised, viz. Hister cerestensis n. sp. from the Oligocene of Céreste (Lubéron) and Plegaderus pitoni (Theobald, 1935), n. comb. from the Pliocene of Chambon Lake (Puy-de-Dôme). Morphometric data are used to compare fossil and extant taxa, with multivariate statistics. A list of the fossil Histeridae is given.     

Ademosynoides asiaticus Martynov, 1936, the earliest known member of an extant beetle family (Insecta, Coleoptera, Trachypachidae)

Fossil beetles are described from Kedrovka beds of the locality Babii Kamen’, Kuznetsk Basin, Siberia. According to different authors, this locality is dated to the terminal Permian or basal Triassic. SEM studies have shown that Ademosynoides asiaticus Martynov, 1936, described from this locality, should be placed in the family Trachypachidae, which makes it the earliest known extant family of beetles. In addition to the re-studied holotype, further material is described for this species; a new species of the same genus and a new genus and species of the same family are also described. As a result, almost 10% of the 78 beetle fossils known from this locality are identified as belonging to Trachypachidae. Unfortunately, the study of these beetles is complicated by the rather poor preservation quality and very small size of the majority of the fossils, which usually cannot be properly studied without using SEM. However, even in this case there is no full certainty that the results are absolutely reliable.     

A new record of monogeneric family Vietnamellidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) from India

A new record of monogeneric family Vietnamellidae (Insecta: Ephemeroptera) is established for India with Vietnamella sp. A described based on the larvae from Arunachal Pradesh, India. This species can be distinguished from other known species of this genus in the larval stage by the following combination of characters: (i) outer pair of projections in head large and stout, triangular, cone-shaped with serrated spines; (ii) posterolateral angles of abdominal terga 2–9 extended into sharp projections; (iii) caudal filaments pale yellowish brown with dense lateral setae on inner and outer margins of middle part; (iv) femora of mid- and hind-legs broader; and (v) second segment of the maxillary palpi shorter than first segment.     

Intraspecific transfer of cantharidin within selected members of the family Meloidae (Insecta: Coleoptera)

The use of deuterium-labelled cantharidin (CAN-D(2)) to study details of cantharidin transfer in blister beetles indicates that the dynamics of organ-selective cantharidin accumulation may differ over time. Although the accessory glands absorb a high amount of CAN-D(2) in the short term, they ultimately accumulate less than the testes. Confirming previous studies, the last steps in the pathway of biosynthesis of cantharidin occur in the male's body distantly from the reproductive system but the ultimate product, cantharidin, is transported into the male reproductive tract via the membrane of the accessory glands. From there it first transfers preferentially to the epididimis and the vas deferens, followed by final deposition in the testes. Most, if not all, of the cantharidin passes internally within the sexual organs; hemolymph transport is not involved. In female meloids, cantharidin enters the genitalia from the male as a nuptial gift. High amounts are first absorbed by the spermatophoral receptacle followed by spreading through the ovaries and an ultimate accumulation in the eggs. The amount taken up by the ovaries remains considerably lower than that of the receptacle. Over time these two organs stop accumulating cantharidin, while the bursa copulatrix starts to incorporate the gift actively. The accumulated amount taken up by bursa is mainly supplied by the receptacle and ovaries suggesting that an internal transfer of cantharidin is used in females as the main transport route.     

The fate of persisting thoracic neurons during metamorphosis of the meal beetle Tenebrio molitor (Insecta: Coleoptera)

Summary A set of motor neurons and interneurons in the thoracic nervous system of the meal beetle Tenebrio molitor L. is described that persist during metamorphosis. The motor neurons under discussion innervate the thoracic ventral longitudinal muscles and were identified by retrograde transport of intramuscularly injected horseradish peroxidase. Persisting motor neurons exhibit a complex repetitive pattern that changes only slightly during development. Additionally, the characterization of serotonin-immunoreactive neurons defines a complex set of interneurons that also persist throughout development. The fate of these identified neurons is outlined in detail with special reference to variations in their dendritic arborizations. All motor and interneurons are affected by a similar change in their shape during development. The larval neurons lack the contralateral arborization that is found in the adult beetle and is already distinguishable in the prepupa. Essentially only quantitative changes of the neuronal shape were observed during the pupal instar. No pupa-specific degeneration of certain axo-dendritic structures of these neurons was found. Removal of descending interneurons by sectioning the promesothoracic connectives causes specific degeneration of the dendritic tree of an identified serotonin-immunoreactive interneuron.     

First record of Spintherophyta semiaurata (Klug) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) damaging strawberry flowers

Spintherophyta semiaurata (Klug) is reported for the first time damaging flowers of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) in the municipality of S?o José dos Pinhais, State of Parana, Brazil.