Coenonycha globosa, MCCLAY

McPeak, Ron H. & Oberbauer, Thomas A., 2016, Coenonycha globosaMcClay (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) Rediscovered in Washington State, with Comments on Its Habitat and Host Plantassociations, The Coleopterists Bulletin 70 (2), pp. 272-273 : 272-273

COENONYCHA GLOBOSA MCCLAY ( COLEOPTERA : SCARABAEIDAE ) REDISCOVERED IN WASHINGTON STATE, WITH COMMENTS ON ITS HABITAT AND HOST PLANT ASSOCIATIONS

RON H. MCPEAK 3001 SE Balboa Dr. Vancouver, WA 98683, U.S.A. [e-mail]

AND

THOMAS A. OBERBAUER AECOM, 1420 Kettner Blvd., Suite 500 San Diego, CA 92101 , U.S.A.

Coenonycha globosa McClay ( Fig. 1 ) was described by McClay in Cazier and McClay (1943). The description of this flightless scarab was based on seven specimens collected at Ellensburg , Kittitas County, Washington (Cazier and McClay 1943). The male holotype and female allotype were both collected on 20 April 1935, but there was no mention of habitat, food plants, or method of collection. Hatch (1971) provides a brief description of the species and indicates that it was taken at Ellensburg , 9.6 km W of Vantage. We located only two specimens of C. globosa in museum collections, both at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS): one specimen labeled Ellensburg, WA (no date); one labeled Ellensburg, 9.6 km W of Vantage, 8 May 1948. To our knowledge, this species has not been collected since 1948.

We discovered C. globosa at two sites along the Columbia River in Kittitas County, Washington. The first site is 1.4 km south of Vantage, along Huntzinger Road at 46°55.606′N, 119°59.518′W, 214 m elevation. A total of 212 C. globosa were collected during 21–22 April 2013 on vegetation at night ( Fig. 1 ). Most were feeding and mating on scabland sagebrush, Artemisia rigida (Nuttall) A. Gray (Asteraceae) , while others were found on big sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata Nuttall. Eight C. globosa were also collected at night at this site on 19 April 2015, seven on A. rigida and one on A. tridentata . Two C. globosa were also collected in barrier pitfall traps placed approximately 8.0 km south of the Vantage site. This site is 2.7 km south of Wanapum Dam, 46°50.808′N, 119°57.828′W, at 209 m elevation. Traps were set 8 October 2014 to 25 March 2015 in an area that burned during 2014.

Coenonycha globosa is currently known in the Columbia Plateau Scabland Shrubland ecological system ( Fig. 2 ) as defined by Rocchio and Crawford (2009), a system that falls within the dwarf

Figures

Fig. 1. Male Coenonycha globosa.

Fig. 2. Columbia Plateau Scabland ecological system as defined in Rocchio and Crawford (2009). Photograph taken 1.4 km south of Vantage, Kittitas County, Washington at site where Coenonycha globosa was collected.