Endomychus biguttatus Say, 1824

Ferreira, Raul Nascimento, 2016, Annotated checklist of the handsome fungus beetles of Connecticut, USA (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Endomychidae)., Arquivos Entomolóxicos 15, pp. 279-289 : 281-282

Endomychus biguttatus Say, 1824 ( Figs. 1 & 2)

Length 3.5-4.2 mm, oblong oval, with head, antennae, legs and two round spots on elytra, with the subapical one larger, black. Elytra and rest of body orange red with sparce punctures. Pronotum transverse, subquadrate widest at base with sides and base broadly sinuate within acute basal angle and lateral margins markedly beaded with surface finely and sparsely punctate. It is one of the most common endomychids in Eastern North America. It occurs in moist deciduous forest and overwinter beneath bark and forest debris. It can be found in basidiomycetes fungi or gilled mushrooms and some in bracket fungi such as the birch polypore, Piptoporus betulinus (Bull. ex Fr.) P. Karst, 1881 , and on the chicken of the woods, Lactiporus sulphureus (Bull.) Murrill, 1920 . When disturbed it releases a defensive milky yellowish fluid from the joints between the tibiae and tarsi.

Material studied:

Fairfield Co.: Bridgeport, 20 October 1918, M.P. Zappe, 1 ex. ( CAES) ; Easton, 8 September 1926, M.P. Zappe, 1 ex. ( CAES) ; Monroe, April 1932, A.P. Jacot, 1 ex. ( CAES) ; Long Hill, 20 July 1948, Doug Comboni, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; Long Hill, 5 July 1950, D. Comboni, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; Easton, 9 August 1986, D. Comboni, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; Fairfield, Lake Mohegan , 5 April 1988, D. Comboni, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; Stratford, Sikorski Airport, 12/ 13 July 2012, light trap, Eric Haugh, 1 ex. ( UCMS) .

Hartford Co.: Grangy, 14 September 1920, W.E. Britton, 1 ex. ( CAES) .

Litchfield Co.: New Canaan, 19 September 1910, A.B. Champlain, 1 ex. ( CAES) ; New Canaan, 12 August 1918, M.P. Zappe, 3 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; New Canaan, 12 September 1918, M.P. Zappe, 3 ex. ( CAES) .

Middlesex Co.: Portland, 23 March, 1936, M.P. Zappe, 1 ex. ( CAES); Chester , Cockaponset State Forest, 5 October 1941, C.E. Pickford , 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) .

New Haven Co.: New Haven, Cedar Hill, 2 July 1895, Rev. Celestin Crozet, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; Wallinford, 13 August 1912, D.J. Caffrey, 2 ex. ( CAES) ; South Meriden , 12 April 1914, H. Johnson, 1 ex. ( DENH) ; New Haven, under a stone, 19 April 1914, S.E. Ball, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; New Haven, 20 April 1914, S.E. Ball, 3 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; Woodmont, 25 April 1916, M.P. Zappe, 1 ex. ( CAES) ; Woodmont, 6 September 1916, M.P. Zappe, 2 ex. ( CAES) ; North Branford , 8 July 1921, M.P. Zappe, 1 ex. ( CAES) ; South Meriden , 9 May 1936, Henry L. Johnson, 1 ex. ( CAES) ; New Haven only 1942, H. Townshend, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; Waterbury, 10 April 1954, C. O’Brien, 1 ex. ( UCMS) .

New London Co.: Lyme, Roger Lake, no date (1937?), M.B. Bishop, 1 ex. ( YPM-ENT) ; Pawcatuck , 30 June 1991, R.N. Ferreira , 1 ex. ( RNFC) ; Pawcatuck , 10 July 1992, R.N. Ferreira , 1 ex. ( RNFC) ; Pawcatuck , 22 May 1993, R.N. Ferreira , 1 ex. ( RNFC) ; Pawcatuck , 27 September 2003, R.N. Ferreira , 1 ex. ( RNFC) .