Lycoperdina ferruginea LeConte, 1824

Ferreira, Raul Nascimento, 2016, Annotated checklist of the handsome fungus beetles of Connecticut, USA (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Endomychidae)., Arquivos Entomolóxicos 15, pp. 279-289 : 285

Lycoperdina ferruginea LeConte, 1824 ( Figs. 9 & 10 )

Length 4.7-6.0 mm, oblong-oval, brownish with appendages slightly paler. Pronotum transverse, widest before middle with apex narrower, arcuate in front with sides almost straight to acute hind angles and fine punctures. Elytra slightly wider than pronotum, much wider behind and slightly punctate. Tibiae of male with internal obtuse tooth. Antennae with the last two antennomeres abruptly widened and flattened. Occasionally found in leaf litter and several fungi but it is specialist feeder in puffballs, Lycoperdon pyriforme (Schaeff, 1774) Kreisel & Kr ̡ger, 2003 that grow on decaying logs in dump woods. It can be detected by squeezing the puffballs. It is frequent in New England.

Material studied:

Hartford Co.: Windsor, 24 June 1936, M.P. Zappe, 1 ex. ( CAES); Cranby , 6 May 1956, D.L. Yost, 2 ex. ( UCMS) .

Litchfield Co.: New Canaan, 22 September 1905, B.H. Walden, 1 ex. ( UCMS); Canaan , 24 September 1919, M.P. Zappe, 3 ex. ( UCMS); Cornwall , 17 June 1921, M.P. Zappe, 1 ex. ( UCMS); Fall Village, under Mount Road , 1.5 miles NE of the village, in fresh puffballs , 8 October 1972, R.W. Brown, 3 ex. ( YPM-ENT); Cornwall, no date #3181, K.T. Chamberlain, 3 ex. ( UCMS) .

New Haven Co.: North Branford, 2 June 1943, H. Townshend, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) .

Tolland Co.: Mansfield, 24 September 1992, R.N. Ferreira, 1 ex. ( RNFC) .

Windham Co.: Thompson, 3 July 2011, R.N. Ferreira, 1 ex. ( RNFC) .

Figures

Figs. 9-10.- Lycoperdina ferruginea LeConte, 1824. 9.- Habitus (Photo by Tom Murray). 10.- Distributional map.