New distribution records significantly expand the known range of flightless Necrophilus pettitii Horn in the eastern United States

Peck, Stewart B.

English

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123 INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 19, No. 1-2, March-June, 2005IntroductionThe only beetle in the family Agyrtidae knownfrom eastern North America is the flightless prim-itive carrion beetle Necrophilus pettitii Horn, 1880.It is generally secretive, feeds on carrion, inhabitsdeep litter and soil in forests and cave entrances,and is most active in cool seasons or cool upper-elevation habitats in its distributional core in thesouthern Appalachian mountains. Davis (1980) andPeck (1981) reviewed its biology and distribution.Anderson and Peck (1985) comment on generalbiology and repeat the distribution known at thattime, ranging from southern Ontario, Canada, tonorthern Florida. Peck and Miller (1993) and Peck(2001) indicated additional distribution data for thestates of Missouri and Louisiana but gave no de-tails. Recently Ward et al. (2005) reported the firstrecord of the species in the state of Vermont in NewEngland. The Vermont record prompts me to reportadditional and previously unpublished peripheralrecords of this rarely collected beetle. The recordsfor Missouri and Louisiana are the first from westof the Mississippi River. The specimens are in thecollections indicated by acronyms following Arnettet al. (1997), or of the author. I thank the collectorsand collection managers for their records or oppor-tunity to study material under their care.New RecordsAlabama. Chambers County. 2 mi N Gold Hill,26.X.1973 and 14.II.1974, T. French, 2 (AUEM).Lee County. Auburn, 18.X.1980, C. Oliver, 1(AUEM); 10 mi W. Auburn, 5.II.1964, L. G. San-ford, 1 (AUEM). Illinois. Monroe County. JacobsCave, 13.XI-8.XII.1998, J. Lewis and P. Moss, pit-falls, 1 (SBPC). Indiana. Orange County. David’sSpring Cave, Springs Valley Recreational Area,18.V.2002, J. Lewis and R. Burns, pitfall, 1 (SBPC);Molly Cave, Springs Valley, Hoosier National For-est, 18.V. 2002, J. Lewis and R. Burns, 2, (SBPC);Cave’s Cave, Paoli Country Club, 30.IV.1998, J.Lewis and S. Rafail, 1 (SBPC). Washington County.Cave near Bat Cave, 5.X.1996, J. Lewis and A.Pursell, 2 (SBPC). Louisiana. East Baton RougeParish. Mississippi River bank, 5 km E LSU Cam-pus, 6.IV.2001, 1 (LSUC). East Feliciana Parish.Idlewild Experimental Station, 3 -12.XI.1983, E. G.Riley, pitfall trap baited with human feces, 3 (EGRC).Grant Parish. 28 km N Alexandria, Stuart LakeCamp, 18-21.V.83, S. & J. Peck, forest carriontraps, 5 (SBPC). Grant Parish, 3 km SW Pollock,Stuart National Forest, 13.V-3.VI.1985, H. & AHowden & C. Scholtz, intercept trap, 1 (SBPC).West Feliciana Parish. Tunica Hills Wildlife Man-agement Area, 30.55’N, 91.30’W, March, April,November, 4 (LSUC); Feliciana Preserve, ESE St.Francisville, 30.47’N, 91.15’W, January, April,December, 3 (LSUC). Missouri. Jefferson County.Reitter Cave, 1978-1984, J. Gardner, in small holein wall in total darkness, 1 (SBPC). Shannon Coun-ty. Davis Cave, 1978-1984, J. Gardner, under deadmilliped in cave, 1 (SBPC). Ohio. Lawrence Coun-ty, 20.IX.1942, R. L. Bickle, 3 (DENH). Tennessee.Franklin County. Caney Hollow Cave, 31.X.2004,J. Lewis, C. Holliday, 1 (SBPC). Grundy County.Coppinger Cave, 30.IX.2004, J. Lewis, 1 (SBPC).Skull Cave, 1.X.2004, J. Lewis, C. Holliday, 1(SBPC). Wannamaker Cave, 30.IX.2004, J. Lewis,1, (SBPC). Sequatchie County. Stone Cave, 2004, J.Lewis, C. Holliday, 1 (SBPC).References CitedAnderson, R. S., and S. B. Peck. 1985. TheInsects and Arachnids of Canada, part 13. TheCarrion Beetles of Canada and Alaska (Co-New distributional records of the flightlessprimitive carrion beetle Necrophilus pettitii Hornin eastern North America (Coleoptera: Agyrtidae)Stewart B. PeckDepartment of Biology, Carleton University,1125 Colonel By DriveOttawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, CanadaABSTRACT. New distribution records significantly expand the known range of flightless Necrophilus pettitiiHorn in the eastern United States.124 Volume 19, No. 1-2, March-June, 2005, INSECTA MUNDIleoptera: Silphidae and Agyrtidae). ResearchBranch, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, Publica-tion 1778, 121 pp.Arnett R. H., Jr, G. A. Samuelson, and G. M.Nishida. 1977. The insect and spider collec-tions of the world, 2nd ed. Flora and FaunaHandbooks, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.Davis, L. R., Jr. 1980. Notes on beetle distribu-tions, with a discussion of Nicrophorus ameri-canus Olivier and its abundance in collections(Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Lampyridae, andSilphidae). Coleopterists Bulletin 34: 245-251.Peck, S.B. and S.E. Miller. 1993. A catalogue ofthe Coleoptera of America north of Mexico,Family Silphidae. Agricultural Research Ser-vice, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wash-Figure 1. Known distribution of the flightless primitive carrion beetle Necrophilus pettitii Horn. Data combined from Davis (1980), Peck(1981), Ward et al. (2005) and this paper.ington, D.C. Agriculture Handbook 529-28, 24pp.Peck, S. B. 1981. Distribution and biology of flight-less carrion beetle Necrophilus pettitii in east-ern North America (Coleoptera: Silphidae). En-tomological News 92: 181-185.Peck, S. B. 2001. Agyrtidae. Pp. 247-249. IN:American Beetles. Arnett, R. H. Jr. and M. C.Thomas (eds.). Vol. 1, CRC Press, Boca Raton,FL.Ward, M. A., J. M. Collins, and S. M. Morgan.2005. First record of flightless carrion beetleNecrophilus pettitii Horn in New England (Co-leoptera: Agyrtidae). Coleopterists Bulletin 59:151-152.

A catalogue of the Coleoptera of America north of Mexico, Family Silphidae. Agricultural Research Service,

Notes on beetle distributions, with a discussion of Nicrophorus americanus Olivier and its abundance in collections (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Lampyridae, and Silphidae).

The insect and spider collections of the world, 2nd ed. Flora and Fauna Handbooks,

The Insects and Arachnids of Canada, part 13. The Carrion Beetles of Canada and Alaska (CoNew distributional records of the flightless primitive carrion beetle Necrophilus pettitii Horn in eastern North America (Coleoptera: Agyrtidae) Stewart B.

New distributional records of the flightless primitive carrion beetle Necrophilus pettitii Horn in eastern North America (Coleoptera: Agyrtidae)

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