Ohio Beetles Bulletin Occasional Publication of the Ohio Coleopterists Edited By: Ken Karns Species@columbus.rr.com Issue Number: 7 January 2011 Family: Pyrochroidae “Fire Colored Beetle” Neopyrochroa femoral is (LeConte) Male (17 mm) The Ohio Beetles Bulletin (OBB) was developed to provide the Ohio Coleopterists membership a means of communication in conjunction with the Ohio Coleopterists Newsletter. It is hoped the OBB will provide an informative and enjoyable means of sharing information on the fascinating world of Beetles. “When we have experienced the atavistic joy of collecting in the open air and the manipulative pleasure of setting and mounting our chosen beetles there follows the refined intellectual delight 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: Neopyrochroa femoralis (LeConte) Specimen collected by Ken Karns 15-May-2010. Ross Co. Ohio (17 mm) Happy New Year! Who collected the first beetle of 2011 ? Unless someone can offer up evidentiary rebuttal, I am laying claim to have collected the first Coleoptera, by an OC Member, for 2011 . My wife Cathy and I decided to spend New Years weekend at our cabin in Vinton County, Ohio approximately 1 hour from our home in Lancaster. Friday night consisted of playing Bugopoly, an insect version of Monopoly, a few cold beers and letting the rest of the world bring in the new year! Saturday’s weather was in the mid 40s and after breakfast and a couple cups of coffee, I decided to take Riley, our 3 year old Shepherd, to Lake Hope to hike one of the many trails in the area. As we walked the trail I stopped to pull up some moss growing along the high edges of the trail near the lake and began finding beetles overwintering beneath the moss on the sandy loam soil. As I pulled back the moss I discovered a small Buprestid from the Subfamily: Trachyinae (Figure 1 .) The collection of any Buprestidae overwintering is a rare occurrence and this one was no exception. This capture was subsequently determined to be a specimen of Taphrocerus nicolayi Obenberger. T. nicolayi is similar to T. gacilis with the former exhibiting violet or bluish reflections. In his publication The Metallic Wood-Boring Beetles of Canada and Alaska . Donald E. Bright eludes to the fact that little is known regarding the biology of T. nicolayi. In contrast, the biology of T. gacilis is well known due to the study by Chapman (1923). Chapman suggests that adults and larvae of T. gracilis feed on flood-plain bulrush however Chapman goes on to state “The hibernation site is unknown but is presumed to be under debris on higher the spring” I collected T. nicolayi on high that flows into Lake Hope. This feeder stream is damned by Beavers creating a weedy swampy area distal to their activities. In the publication A Catalog and Bibliography of the Buprestoidea of America North of Mexico . Nelson, Walters, Haines and Bellamy list the host of T. nicolayi as three species of Carex. I did not notice what species of Sedges and the like were there, but would not be surprised if there were species of Carex at this location. I plan to continue a close look for additional specimens in the same area over the next couple months for overwintering adults as well as a good trashing with the sweep net this Spring for additional specimens and identification of the plant species. In addition to the Buprestid, I collected a nice series of Histeridae from earthen cells constructed by the beetles under the moss. The soil was a rich well drained sandy loam. This Histerid was determined to be Hister civilis LeConte. A total of 18 specimens were collected from just a small area of similar habitat. This was the first time collecting this species and illustrates the value of locating overwintering habitat for beetles as they tend to congregate in these areas when normally they may be widely distributed and seldom encountered in any numbers. Figure 1 . Family: Buprestidae Taphrocerus nicolayi Obenberger (3.5 mm) 01-01-2011, Vinton County, Ohio. Ken Karns Specimen/Photo land, because the ground under the bulrushes is flooded in ground under moss carpets near one of the feeder streams Continued collecting under the moss secured several species of Carabidae; Trichotichnus autumnalis (Say), one specimen of Lachnocrepis parallela (Say) which is one I don’t see very often, two specimens of an Elateridae, the Tenebrionidae; Anaedus brunneus (Ziegler) and a few weevils. Further down the trail I discovered a tree with a hollow opening near ground level. It turned out to be a squirrel midden. The material was pulled out and sifted and the resulting debris taken home for extraction. This resulted in several Staphs and Histeridae being collected. Three of the Histerids were determined to be Dendrophilus opacus Ross and a larger specimen of the rather uncommon Histerini; Merohister grandis Mazur (Figure 2.) A good start to the 2011 collecting season (Figure 2.) Histeridae: Merohister grandis Mazur (8.0 mm) 01-01-2011 Vinton County, Ohio. Ken Karns specimen and photo. Sifted debris from squirrel midden in hollow tree. References: The Insects and Arachnids of Canada Part 15. The Metallic Wood-Boring Beetles of Canada and Alaska. D.E. Bright 1987 A Catalog and Bibliography of the Buprestoidea of America North of Mexico. Nelson, Walters, Haines, Bellamy 2008 American Beetles Volume 1, Ross Arnett, Jr., Michael C. Thomas. 2001 The Insects and Arachnids of Canada Part 24. Coleoptera Histeridae. Yves Bousquet, Serge Laplante 2006 The Coleoptera or Beetles Known to Occur in Indiana, W.S. Blatchley 1909 JANUARY FIELD TRIP & GET TOGETHER SATURDAY JANUARY 22, 2011 US Forest Service Lab - Delaware, Ohio Below is an e-mail from Dave Horn regarding our January field trip and get together.... hope to see you there! 2010 Christmas Party hosted by George Keeney Saturday December 18th. From left to right; Ken Karns, Ben Diehl, and Dick Maxey I expect to host the O.C. at the Forest Service Lab on the 22nd. I'll be there by 9:30 with hot water and donuts. I'll have a couple of 'scopes and lights. I don't have Internet access and I'm not sure I will by then, but at least I have a key to the building and permission to host. On the agenda will be identifying unknown beetles from various O.C. surveys plus unidentified beetles from the Forest Service burn project. (The Deep Woods stuff is at the OSU Museum where I have an office but no meaningful lab space.) The USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station is at 359 Main Rd., Delaware. Go north of Delaware on US 23 until civilization thins out (past McDonald's on the left) and in a few miles pass under a railway bridge. Main Rd. is the next right. Turn right, cross the Olentangy River and up the hill the lab is on the left. Pass the building to the parking area at the rear (left) and the right wing is the building to enter. (Either "MOTHMAN" or "GBORO" Subaru will be parked there.) Folks can bring lunch or go to the aforementioned McD's in about 5 minutes. (Most of Delaware's fast-food alternatives are on the other side of town.) 2010 OC Christmas Party Saturday, December 18 th Hosted by: George Keeney New OC Member Marc Behrendt (Lto R, Marc, Cheryl Early, Josh Bryant, Foster Purrington, Dave and Roz Horn, George Keeney) Horsdoeuvres....OC Style! ► New Star of Hell’s Kitchen... George Keeney What the I did not break that.. (Lto R Josh Bryant, Ben Diehl, Dick Maxey)