Ohio Beetles Bulletin

Occasional Publication of the Ohio Coleopterists

Edited By: Ken Karns
Species@columbus.rr.conn

Issue Number: 4 January 201 0

Staphylinidae: Philotermes pilosus Kraatz

The Ohio Beetles Bulletin (OBB) was developed to provide the Ohio Coleopterists membership a
means of communication between issues of the Ohio Coleopterists Newsletter. Prior methods of
communication via e-mail messages lacked the substance and sophistication the 00 membership
deserves. It is hoped the OBB will fill this void and provide an informative and enjoyable means of
sharing information on the fascinating world of Beetles.

“When we have experienced the atavistic joy of coiiecting in the open air and the manipuiative
pieasure of setting and mounting our chosen beeties there foiiows the refined inteiiectuai deiight of
naming them with precision”.

Quote by G.B. Walsh taken from the first edition of the Coleopterists Handbook. W.J.B. Crotch, General Editor London, December
1953.

Cover Photo: The rarely collected termitophilous Staphylinidae Philotermes pilosus Kraatz. Collected under rocks on open rocky
hillside with termites. 24-April-2009, Ross County, Ohio. Collected and Photographed by Ken Karns. M.K. Thayer determination,
(specimen 3.2 mm)

2009 In Review

A Good Year For Ohio Beetles

Looking back over my collection records for 2009, it was clearly a great year for rare, unusual, and
seldom collected beetles. I’m leaning towards the assumption it was a combination of focused and
dedicated collecting and favorable overall conditions in the field. The Ohio Coleopterists kicked off
the 2009 field schedule with a trip to Crane Hollow Saturday April 18th, hosted by Gary and Holly
Covert. The trip was well attended by myself. Josh Bryant, Ben Diehl, George Keeney, Dick Maxey,
and of course the hosts Gary and Holly. Gary suggested we concentrate on the extreme southern
end of Crane Hollow and we began our collecting at the confluence of a small stream that runs
through Crane Hollow and Pine Creek. The recommendation was a good one as the collecting along
the creek was very good and typical of the early spring collecting along many of the streams in this
part of the state. The multitude of nice sand bars with a generous covering of leaf litter and debris
created the ideal habitat for the rarely collected Lucanid Nicagus obscurus LeConte. In most cases
this beetle is rarely collected but can be locally abundant. We all were able to collect reasonable
series of both males and the scarce, sexually dimorphic, females. Both look like small scarabs and
not your typical Lucanidae. As a bonus there were a fair number of the equally seldom seen scarab
Cremastocheilus canaliculatus Kirby taken under the leaf litter and debris. This was a real treat as
these guys are never collected in big numbers and often very localized.

Ben was the first to spot our next unusual suspects. Of
course it helps to have “young eyes” for that sort of
thing. Ben spotted several beetles on the wing around a
fallen Liriodendron tulipifera L. (Tulip Poplar). Thanks to
Gary and Holly for the determination of the tree species,
makes us all look smart when we put it on our labels.

In short order we observed numerous specimens of this
yet unknown beetle both flying and crawling rapidly over
the trunk of the tree. Some were observed in copula.
George Keeney suspected it was a species of
Lymexylonidae which is exactly what it turned out to be.
Ben had discovered another rarely collected beetle
Elateroides lugubris (Say). I had never collected this
beetle previously however, Gary was quite sure he had
encountered this beetle in the Crane Hollow area before
but not in these numbers. In researching this beetle I
came across the following notation in Blatchley’s
Coleoptera of Indiana in which Blatchley quotes Thomas
Say’s observation of Elateroides lugubris “observed it
in considerable numbers on the 16th of April, flying
about a prostrate sugar maple and running briskly upon
it”. Replace the tree species and it’s spot on to our
observation. Say also observed a color form, as a

variation of the more common dark form, that has the elytra dull yellowish on the basal half. Only a
few of the specimens we observed exhibited this “yellow” color variation (see illustration on the
following page). No other really significant finds were recorded and due to the activity and great
collecting we barely covered a few hundred yards of the creek. Josh got wet, we all got nice beetles,
and we all got to get back there again!

Cremastocheilus canaliculatus Kirby. Collected
under leaf litter and sandy debris. 18-APR-2009
Hocking County, Ohio. KD Karns Collection/Photo
(specimen 7.0 mm)

The family Lymexylidae is relatively small
with two confirmed US/Canada genera;
Elateroides and Melittomma and a third of
somewhat questionable status; Atractocerus.
All included genera are monotypic. Both
Elateroides lugubris (Say) and Melittomma
sericeum (Harris) occur in the Northeast and
are represented in the author’s collection
from Ohio.

References: ARNETT, R.H.et.al. 2002
American Beetles, Volume 2. Family:
Lymexylidae by Daniel K. Young

Elateroides lugubris (Say) Lymexylidae
18-APR-2009, Hocking County, Ohio
KD Karns Collection/Photo
Specimens displaying typical color forms
(specimens 10, 12.5 mm)

OHIO COLEOPTERA

Misc. 2009 Collection Records
From the Ken Karns Collection

The following records were selected based on unique captures and observations and those species
which appear to be locaiized and only rarely encountered. They also serve to function as future
subjects for further study and feature materiai for additional issues of the Ohio Beeties Builetin.

Bothrideridae: Oxviaemus americanus LeConte (6) 21 -May-2009, Ross County, Ohio. UV Bucket Trap

Ceram bycidae: Neocivtus horridus (LeConte) (18) 24-April-2009, (10) 26-April-2009, Ross County, Ohio

Beating dead Quercus sp.

Euderces pini (Olivier) (1) 24-April-2009, Ross County, Ohio. Beating dead Quercus sp.

Cerophytidae: Cerophvtum pulsator (Haldeman) (1) 31 -April-2009, Ross County, Ohio. UV Bucket Trap

Colydiidae: Eudesma undulata (Melsheimer) (5) 24-April-2009, (10) 26-April-2009, (5) 31 -April-2009,

(2) 01 -May-2009, (7) 07-May-2009, (4) 18-June-2009, Ross County, Ohio. Headlamping
on cut Quercus sp. logs.

Staphylinidae: Lordithon axillaris (Gravenhorst) (1) 19-Sept-2009, Vinton County, Ohio. Collected on
“Hen of the Woods” Polypore fungus, Grifola frondosa (Fr.)

Megalopinus rufipes (LeConte) (1) 22-Aug-2009, (5) 28-Aug-2009, (6) 13-Sept-2009, Ross
County, Ohio. Under dead cut Quercus sp. logs with fungus.

Megalopinus caelatus (Gray.) (1) 13-Sept-2009, Ross County, Ohio. Under dead cut Quercus sp.
logs with fungus.

Philotermes pilosus Kraatz. (5) 24-April-2009, Ross County, Ohio. Under rocks with termites.

Tenebrionidae: Dioedus punctatus LeConte (11) 19-June-2009, Ross County, Ohio. Berlese sample of

red rotten Quercus sp.

Pentaphvllus pal I id us LeConte (8) 07-June-2009, Vinton County, Ohio. Under Quercus sp. bark