Two species of the genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae), commonly known as “peaceful giant ground beetles,” are recorded from the Republic of South Africa: T. carinatus carinatus Klug and T. meyerlei delagorguei Guérin-Méneville. Distribution records from the Republic of South Africa are summarized and mapped for both species. Tefflus c. carinatus has been collected in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga Provinces, while T. m. delagorguei has been recorded from Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga Provinces. Adults of both species are illustrated. Seasonal and temporal activity patterns and defensive and foraging behaviors are characterized for T. m. delagorguei based on recent field studies in the Kruger National Park, Republic of South Africa

Mawdsley, Alice S.

Mawdsley, Jonathan R.

Sithole, Hendrik

English

Figure 2. Adult Achatina land snail, Skukuza, Kruger Specimens examined are deposited in the fol- National Park. lowing collections: KNPC - Kruger National Park Museum Collection, Skukuza, Republic of South Africa; NMNH - National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., USA; TMSA - Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. Field investigations of the natural history of T. m. delagorguei were conducted in the Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga Province, Republic of South Africa, between 7 December and 20 December, 2009, and between 28 November and 16 December, 2010. Our investigations focused on the areas surrounding the Skukuza, Pretoriuskop, and Satara tourist camps, where many of the museum specimens of T. m. delagorguei and other large-bodied Carabidae had been collected. Diurnal visual surveys for adult beetles were conducted by either driving slowly or walking along roads, trails, and firebreaks. Diurnal surveys were conducted in multiple vegetation communities as defined by Gertenbach (1983): Acacia grandicornuta Gerstner (Leguminosae) bottomland sodic flats; Acacia nigrescens Oliver (Leguminosae) – Combretum apiculatum Sonder (Combretaceae) woodland; Terminalia prunioides Lawson (Combretaceae) woodland; Terminalia sericea Burchell (Combretaceae) woodland; and riparian gallery forest. Diurnal surveys were conducted from 8 AM to 4 PM daily under all weather conditions, ranging from full sun to partial clouds to overcast to light rain to heavy rain. In addition to the diurnal surveys, pitfall traps of 7 cm to 20 cm diameter were deployed in the same vegetation communities where diurnal surveys were conducted, in order to sample nocturnally active Carabidae. Nocturnal "headlamping" surveys for Tefflus spp. and other Carabidae were also conducted in the Skukuza tourist camp and the N'waswitshaka research camp near Skukuza.Published as part of Mawdsley, Jonathan R., Sithole, Hendrik & Mawdsley, Alice S., 2011, Peaceful giant ground beetles: The genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Republic of South Africa, pp. 1-7 in Insecta Mundi 2011 (181) on page 2, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.516104

Peaceful giant ground beetles: The genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Republic of South Africa

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NEUROSURGERY ENTHUSIASTIC WOMEN SOCIETY

Hochschulschriftenserver - Universität Frankfurt am Main