Lacconotus (Lacconotus) punctatus LeConte

Pollock, Darren & Majka, Christopher G., 2012, Review of the Nearctic genus Lacconotus LeConte (Coleoptera, Mycteridae, Eurypinae), ZooKeys 162, pp. 1-24 : 8-11

Lacconotus (Lacconotus) punctatus LeConte Figs 14 –579–101315– 16

Lacconotus punctatus LeConte 1862: 255. -Type locality: “Pennsylvania.” Gemminger and Harold 1870: 2179; Dury 1902: 174; Blatchley 1910: 1302; Seidlitz 1917: 99; Leng 1920: 240; Blair 1928: 33; Van Dyke 1928: 257; Spilman 1954: 89, 93; Arnett 1983: 3; Campbell 1991: 267; Poole and Gentili 1996: 315; Pollock 2002: 530 (fig. 9.112), 532; Majka 2006: 38; Majka and Selig 2006; Ulyshen et al. 2010.

Type.

holotype, male, labeled: "[pink circle] / ♂ / Type 4760 / Lacconotus punctatus Lec. / HOLOTYPE ♂ Lacconotus punctatus LeC. exam. Pollock 2000", in MCZC.

Diagnosis.

This species is easily diagnosed by the following characteristics: body color dark piceous to near black, pronotum with reddish margins and black center (Figs 1, 4); antennae relatively short, antennomeres submoniliform; male sex patch on ventrite 2 bulging, glabrous, yellow-orange, contrasting with dark color of venter (Fig. 5); distribution in eastern North America (Fig. 15).

Re-description.

To general features of Lacconotus (see description, above) the following can be added: TL 4.4-5.8 mm; GEW 1.5-2.0 mm; TL/GEW 2.9-3.3. Dorsal body surface uniformly piceous to near black, except for lateral areas of pronotum red-orange (Fig. 1); extent of light area varying, from extreme posterolateral corners to fully 2/3 of pronotal disc; ventral surface and legs dark, piceous to near black; antennomeres 5-10 short, distinctly wider than long, submoniliform; antennal sensilla completely annular, covering entire distal antennal surface, around insertion point of next antennomere; wing very pale, veins present, but inconspicuous; male sex patch (Fig. 5) very large, occupying entire length of second ventrite, prolonged onto ventrite one, glabrous and bulging ventrally; color of sex patch yellow-orange, distinctly contrasting background color of ventrite; tegmen of male genitalia (Fig. 9) moderately elongate, parameres of apicale relatively slender; bursa copulatrix (Fig. 13) spherical, small.

Lacconotus punctatus is newly recorded in Alabama, Arkansas, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wisconsin (see Appendix A). Published records of Lacconotus punctatus are from Ontario ( Campbell 1991)1, Québec ( Campbell 1991)2, and Nova Scotia ( Majka and Selig 2006) in Canada [ Horn (1879) first reported it from “Canada”], and Georgia ( Ulyshen et al. 2010), Michigan ( Hubbard et al. 1878; Horn 1879), New Hampshire ( Chandler 2001), Ohio ( Dury 1902; Blatchley 1910), and Pennsylvania ( LeConte 1862) in the United States. Although listed from Ontario in Campbell (1991), we have not been able to find any published record, or any vouchers specimen in any North American collection that would substantiate this report. Consequently, pending verification of its occurrence in this jurisdiction, we remove Ontario from the known distribution of this species.In addition to the specimen from Montreal in the CUIC (Appendix 1) a second specimen from Québec was formerly in the Ouellet-Robert collection of the Université de Montréal, however, the specimen was stolen before being databased so its collection date and locality in the province are unknown (pers. com., Louise Cloutier)

The new records above make clear that the distribution of Lacconotus punctatus in North America is much wider than previously known (Fig. 15). Less than a decade ago, Pollock (2002) reported the species from only four jurisdictions in North America ( Québec, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan). There are now records from 14 states and provinces on the continent. The records from Wisconsin constitute a northwestern range extension of 650 km; and those from Oklahoma a southwestern range extension of 1,000 km. The present distribution indicates that Lacconotus punctatus is found over much of eastern North America, from a latitude of 33.6° to 44.3°N, and between longitudes of 64.5° and 95.3°W, much of the continent west of the prairies.

There is also much more information on the range of habitats that Lacconotus punctatus occupies. In Nova Scotia a specimen was found in a mixed forest of white pine ( Pinus strobus L.), balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill), eastern hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.), and maple ( Acer spp.) ( Majka and Selig 2006). In New Hampshire, W.J. Morse and D.S. Chandler collected 26 specimens at a water tower in a mixed hardwood forest with eastern hemlocks. In Oklahoma a specimen was collected on a dead oak and in Wisconsin a specimen was found in an oak savanna. In Arkansas a specimen was found in a mixed forest/old field.

In Georgia, specimens were collected in mature bottomland hardwood forests in April with flight intercept traps in the forest canopy ( Ulyshen et al. 2010). Dominant trees included box elder ( Acer negundo L.), oak ( Quercus spp.), ash ( Fraxinus spp.), eastern cottonwood ( Populus deltoides (Bartr.) ex. Marsh.), and sweetgum ( Liquidambar styraciflua L.) with some loblolly pine ( Pinus taeda ) (M. Ulyshen, pers. comm.). Five of six specimens were found 15 m above the forest floor ( Ulyshen et al. 2010). Ulyshen et al. (2010) proposed that Lacconotus punctatus may be an early-seasonal canopy specialist, a reason why it has been so infrequently collected.

The phenology information that is available (Fig. 16) indicates that adults can be found between 31 March and 16 June. Specimens from southern areas (i.e., Georgia) were found in mid April ( Ulyshen et al. 2010), whereas those from northern latitudes (i.e., New Hampshire) occur mainly during the last two weeks of May and first week of June (D.S. Chandler, pers. comm.), indicating a north-to-south gradation in occurrence period.