Excerpt: The comprehensive survey of literature on the biology of the Scarabaeidae by Ritcher (1958) indicates that the ecology of many large groups is known from a study of very few species. Such is the case with the rhinoceros beetles in the subfamily Dynastinae. From 1960 to 1965 I had many opportunities to observe the rhinoceros beetle Xyloryctes jamaicensis (Drury) in a woodlot near Wheatley, Ontario, on the north shore of Lake Erie. My notes, although fragmentary, suggest areas of further research

Stephan, Karl

English

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 1 Number 4 -- April 1967 Number 4 -- April 1967 Article 6 April 1967 Notes on the Ecology of Xyloryctes Jamaicensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Southern Ontario Karl Stephan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle  Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Stephan, Karl 1967. "Notes on the Ecology of Xyloryctes Jamaicensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Southern Ontario," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 1 (4) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/6 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1967 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST 133 NOTES ON THE ECOLOGY OF XYLORYCTES JAMAlCENSlS (COLEOPTERA: SCARABAEIDAE) IN SOUTHERN ONTARIO (see cover photo) K a r l  Stephan R. R. 5 ,  T i lbury ,  Onta r io  The c o m p r e h e n s i v e  s u r v e y  of l i t e r a t u r e  on the biology of the  S c a r -  abaeidae by Ri tcher  (1958) ind ica tes  tha t  the ecology of many l a r g e  g r o u p s  i s  known f r o m  a s tudy of v e r y  few s p e c i e s .  Such is the c a s e  with the  r h i n o c e r o s  b e e t l e s  in  the subfamily Dynast inae.  F r o m  1960 to 1965 I had many oppor tun i t i es  to o b s e r v e  the r h i n o c e r o s  bee t le  XylorycteS jamaicensis (Drury)  in  a woodlot n e a r  Wheat ley,  Onta r io ,  on the  north s h o r e  of L a k e  E r i e .  My n o t e s ,  although f r a g m e n t a r y ,  sugges t  a r e a s  of f u r t h e r  r e s e a r c h .  The  Wheatley woodlot, now p a r t  of a p rov inc ia l  p a r k ,  h a s  a bluish c layey  s o i l ,  i n t e r s p e r s e d  with many  e leva ted  a r e a s  and r i d g e s  of f ine sand.  L o w  spots  oten hold s u r f a c e  wate r  i n  s p r i n g  and e a r l y  s u m m e r ,  caus ing  the well-drained sandy  a r e a s  to  s tand  ou t  l ike  i s lands .  Low- growing p lan ts  a r e  s c a r c e  i n  the deciduous f o r e s t ;  white a s h  ( F r a x i n u s  americana L.) is c o m m o n  in the  l o w e r  a r e a s  and is frequent ly found i n  sandy so i l  c l o s e  to the  clay.  While digging a t  the b a s e  o f o n e  of t h e s e  l a t t e r  t r e e s  in  l a t e  J u l y ,  1960 I found an adul t  X. j a m a i c e n s i s .  The  next  day ,  digging around the  l iving but  par t i a l ly  decayed a s h ,  I exposed 12 m a l e s ,  5 f e m a l e s  and s e v e r a l  l a r v a e  i n  a n  e a r l y  i n s t a r .  All the  s p e c i m e n s  w e r e  taken a t  a depth of 6"-10" i n  a hard-packed  m i x t u r e  of sand  and c lay .  S c a r s  w e r e  evident  on the main  r o o t s  n e a r  the b a s e  of the  t r e e ,  and s i g n s  of r e c e n t  feeding w e r e  found. E a r l y  i n s t a r  l a r v a e  w e r e  co l lec ted  i n  c l o s e  p rox imi ty  to  o t h e r  t r e e s ,  a lways white ash.  Yet  l a t e r ,  when s if t ing leaf l i t t e r  s o m e  d i s tance  f r o m  any growth of a s h ,  many  l a r g e ,  l a t e  i n s t a r  l a r v a e  w e r e  found. T h e s e  w e r e  a t  the  l eve l  where  the  l o o s e  l i t t e r  m e t  o l d e r  mat ted  leaves .  The l a r v a e  had fed extensively on v a r i o u s  l e a v e s ,  and f r a s s  w a s  found in quantity. S i m i l a r  l a r v a e  w e r e  o b s e r v e d  i n  m o s t  heavy accumula t ions  of l e a v e s  in  the a r e a ,  a lways on sandy ground and e leva ted  above the  w a t e r  table .  I a t t empted  to r e a r  25 l a r v a e  by placing them i n  a 10-gal lon aquar ium containing 2"-3" of s a n d  c o v e r e d  with 3" of leaf l i t t e r ,  which was  r e p l a c e d  a s  consumed.  The sand  and leaf l i t t e r  w e r e  both obtained a t  the  col lect ion s i t e .  The  aquar ium was p laced  in a par t i a l ly  hea ted  g a r a g e ,  w h e r e  the  t e m p e r a t u r e  i n  winter  s e l d o m  d r o p s  below f reez ing .  Pupat ion began i n  l a t e  October ,  a t  which t i m e  no m o r e  l a r v a e  could b e  found i n  the  field. After  four  l a r v a e  had c o n s t r u c t e d  egg-shaped unlined c a v i t i e s  in  the  s o i l ,  i t  w a s  noticed tha t  the r e m a i n i n g  l a r v a e  w e r e  developing d a r k ,  s c a b r o u s  p a t c h e s ,  and had s t a r t e d  to  s h r i n k  a s  if dehydrated.  Close  examina t ion  showed tha t  the  l a r v a e  w e r e  in fes ted  1Stephan: Notes on the Ecology of Xyloryctes Jamaicensis (Coleoptera: ScaraPublished by ValpoScholar, 1967134 THE MICHIGAN ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 1, No. 4 with l a r g e  n u m b e r s  of s m a l l ,  pa le  brown m i t e s ;  unfortunately t h e s e  w e r e  not identified. All t h e s e  l a r v a e  died and only those  a l r e a d y  below ground escaped .  Adult e m e r g e n c e  took p lace  i n  May, probably due to the  w a r m  t e m p e r a -  t u r e  of the  g a r a g e ;  i n  the  f ie ld adul ts  a r e  not s e e n  unt i l  l a t e  Ju ly  o r  e a r l y  August. Da ta  could not b e  obtained on length of adul t  l i f e  i n  the  f i e ld ,  but  I s u s p e c t  that  death o c c u r s  s h o r t l y  a f t e r  mat ing  and deposi t ion of ova ,  a s  I have  never  found l ive  adu l t s  a f t e r  l a t e  August. Digging in 1961 and subsequent  y e a r s  conf i rmed  the  i m p r e s s i o n  tha t  sandy  so i l  is a p r e f e r r e d  habi tat ;  a l s o ,  young l a r v a e  w e r e  n e v e r  found e x c e p t  n e a r  the  r o o t s  of white ash .  In o t h e r  woodlots n e a r  T i lbury  where  both white a s h  and leaf  l i t t e r  w e r e  plentiful but the s o i l  was not sandy ,  adul ts  o r  l a r v a e  w e r e  not found. A l a r g e  woodlot i n  Maidstone Township,  E s s e x  County, Onta r io ,  yielded a few s p e c i m e n s  but  t h e s e  were  only found i n  a few sandy spo ts  in  the  o t h e r w i s e  c layey  soi l .  I  have not col lected X. jamnicensis a t  l ight  i n  Ontar io ,  but  w a s  ab le  to  t ake  a s e r i e s  by th i s  method n e a r  P o r t a l ,  Ar izona  i n  1964 and 1966.  h he s p e c i e s  h a s  been col lected a t  l ight  i n  Grand  T r a v e r s e  Co., ~ i c h . - ~ d . ]  The  s p e c i m e n s  were  cons iderab ly  l a r g e r  than m y  Ontar io  c a p t u r e s .  Vincent Roth, d i r e c t o r  of the  Southwestern R e s e a r c h  Sta-  t ion,  P o r t a l ,  h a s  in formed m e  tha t ,  to  h i s  knowledge, l a r v a e  have  not been  col lected i n  the  vicini ty ,  bu t  adul ts  have  been taken a t  l ight  i n  the re la t ive ly  t r e e l e s s  d e s e r t  a s  well a s  a t  h igher  a l t i tudes  where  v a r i o u s  s p e c i e s  of t r e e s  a r e  found. X. jamnicensis would s e e m  to be  f a i r l y  common in sou thwes te rn  Ontar io  under  the  condit ions descr ibed .  Smal l  l a r v a e  m i g r a t e  f r o m  t h e i r  o r ig ina l  hab i ta t  a t  the  r o o t s  of white a s h ,  to  comple te  t h e i r  growth i n  leaf  l i t t e r  on well d r a i n e d ,  sandy  soi l .  The  l a r v a e  a r e  within e a s y  r e a c h  of p r e d a t o r s ,  ye t  appear  to  p roduce  no pro tec t ive  l iquids o r  of- fens ive  o d o r s ;  p e r h a p s  a comple te  a b s e n c e  of odor  p r o t e c t s  them. Ri tcher  (1958) points  out  tha t  length of l i fe  c y c l e s  among t h e  S c a r -  abae idae  v a r i e s  with t h e  c l i m a t e ,  being longes t  i n  m o r e  t e m p e r a t e  reg ions .  In t h i s  a r e a  a two y e a r  c y c l e  is m o s t  l ikely f o r  X. janznicensis, but  defini te  proof is not y e t  avai lable .  ACKNOWLEDGMENT I should l ike  to thank D r .  R.C. G r a v e s ,  D e p a r t m e n t  of Biology,  Bowling G r e e n  State  Univers i ty ,  Bowling G r e e n ,  Ohio, f o r  h i s  kind help i n  the c o u r s e  of th i s  study. LITERATURE CITED R i t c h e r ,  P a u l  0. 1958. Biology of Scarabae idae .  Ann. Rev. Entomol.  3: 311-334. 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 1, No. 4 [1967], Art. 6tps://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol1/iss4/6

Notes on the Ecology of Xyloryctes Jamaicensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Southern Ontario

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Notes on the Ecology of Xyloryctes Jamaicensis (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in Southern Ontario

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