Additions to and comments on the Suffolk list of Anobiidae (Coleoptera)

ADDITIONS TO AND COMMENTS ON THE SUFFOLK LIST OF ANOBIIDAE (COLEOPTERA) H.

MENDEL

The Coleoptera of Suffolk (Morley, 1899) records ten species of Anobiid from the County. A further three species were added in the First Supplement (Morley, 1915) and two more in the Second Supplement (Elliott, 1930). Since the publication of the Second Supplement, notes in these Transactions and elsewhere have confirmed the presence in Suffolk of Dorcatoma chrysomelina Sturm (Nash, 1975a) and added to the List Ernobius pini (Sturm) (Burton, 1949) and Dorcatoma serra Panzer (Nash, 1974, 1975b).

A number of species in this family now require either further comment or placing on record for the first time. These are dealt with below; species previous unrecorded from the County being marked with an asterisk.

The nomenclature follows Kloet and Hincks (1977). *Anobium

inexspectatum

Lohse

On the 13th August 1978 I beat a single Anobium sp. from ivy, Hedera helix L., hanging from the branches of an old oak pollard, Quercus sp., in Priestly Wood, Barking (TM 0853).

External characters indicated that this might be A. inexspectatum, a species very similar to A. punctatum (Degeer), the Furniture Beetle, and only recently added to the British List (Allen, 1977). Examination of the genitalia confirmed that the specimen was indeed a female A. inexspectatum (teste A. A. Allen).

Since that time Mr. D. R. Nash (D.R.N.) has examined his own collection and Mr. C. S. Barham's (C.S.B.) for further records, and I have likewise examined the C. Morley and the C. G . Doughty collections at Ipswich Museum. The following records, all confirmed by genitalia examinations have come to light - 12. vii. 1928, 1 6 , Burgh Castle, Norfolk (Vice-county 25, East Suffolk), TG 40 (C. Morley); 24. viii. 1965, larvae (from which emerged one adult 6 ) thick dead stem of ivy, //. helix, Tunstall, TM 3756 (C.S.B.); 4. iii. 1967, larva (which produced adult $ ) , dead part of tree lupin, Lupinus arboreus Sims, garden, Ipswich, TM 1845 (C.S.B.); 18. vii. 70, 1 <J, beaten ivy, H. helix near Langham Bridge, Farnham, TM 3758 (C.S.B.); 26. vi. 1976, d c j ' s and 9 9 ' s with A. punctatum Trans. S u f f . Nat. Vol. 18 part 1.

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dead ivy, H. helix, roadside trees, Little Blakenham, TM 113496 (D.R.N.) Anobium inexspectatum is generally considered to be restricted to old ivy (vide Allen, 1977) and so the rearing of a specimen from tree lupin is of special note. A. punctatum will attack the dead parts of a variety of hardwoods (including ivy) as well as processed hard and softwood timbers.

The presence of inexspectatum in the County casts doubt on many of the earlier records for punctatum, especially those referring to specimens taken out of doors and not associated with a specific pabulum. However, because my own experience shows punctatum to be widespread and common throughout the County, I think it unnecessary to list confirmed records here. *Hadrobregmus

denticollis (Creutzer in Panzer)

It is interesting that this supposedly very rare Anobiid has been found in two widely separate localities in Suffolk.

Mr. D. R. Nash took a single example of the species from a rotten stump, probably black poplar, Populus nigra L. on the Icklingham Plains (TL 7573) on 3rd June, 1976. On the 21st March 1978 I found a single specimen under the loose bark of a dead fallen ash, Fraxinus excelsior L., at the edge of Barthorp's Folly, Lower Hollesley Common, Hollesley (TM 348458). A search for the breeding site on the 24th of the following month revealed two more adults and numerous larvae in a rotten, dry, friable ash log nearby. A portion of the log collected for rearing purposes produced seven adults in October of the same year. *Lasioderma serricorne (F.) A cosmopolitan pest usually found associated with tobacco products, hence the common names Tobacco and Cigarette beetle.

Though it is not clear whether the species is established in the County, breeding colonies arising from continually imported individuals and populations, must be of frequent occurrence. The scarcity of available records relating to such outbreaks, is no doubt due to the embarrassment they cause commercial enterprises. I have reliable reports of two infestations: October, 1973, in cigar wrapper (thought to have originated in Nicaragua), factory, Ipswich (TM 14); and August 1975, in tobacco, warehouse. Felixstowe (TM 23).

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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 18, Part 1

*Dorcatomaflavicornis

(F.)

A Single dead example of this rare species was found in the red rotten interior of a small (approx. 2m. circumference) dead, upright hedgerow oak, Quercus sp. at Little Blakenham (TM 1049) on the 26th April, 1975, by Mr. D. R. Nash. His determination has been confirmed by Mr. A. A. Allen.

Dorcatoma

serra Panzer

Reporting D. serra as new to Suffolk, Nash (1974, 1975b) provisionally associated the species with the bracket fungus Fistulina hepatica (Hudson) Fries., correcting this determination to Inonotus hispidus (Bull, ex Fr.) Karst, in a later note (Nash, 1978). I can now add further evidence to support the association between D. serra and I. hispidus, having reared the beetle in hundreds from a piece of the fungus found on a dead fallen ash, Fraxinus excelsior L., at the edge of Barthorp's Folly, Lower Hollesley Common, Hollesley (TM 348458) on 21st March 1978. *Anitys rubens (Hoffmann) This scarce species has now been recorded from two Suffolk localities - 12. viii. 1976, live and dead specimens in powdery wood mould beneath bark of hardwood stump (possibly d u m p e d from nearby), edge of pond, Little Blakenham, (TM 1148) (C.S.B.); and 25. v. 1977, numerous dead adults, base of small (approx. 2m. circumference) upright dead oak, Shrubland Park, Barham, (TM 1252) (D.R.N.).

Acknowledgements.

I thank Mr. D. R. Nash and Mr. C. S. Barham for allowing me to include their unpublished records; Mr. G. T. Bills, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Infestation Control, Ipswich) for supplying me with details of the Felixstowe Lasioderma infestation; Mr. A. A. Allen for kindly conflrming the determination of my specimen of A. inexspectatum-, and staff at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for identifying the Inonotus hispidus from which I reared D. serra.

I^cfcrdiccs Allen, A.

A.

(1977) Notes on some British

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Serricorn

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C o l e o p t e r a , with adjustments to the List 3. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; A new British Anobium, with notes on three others of the Family. Entomologist's mon. Mag. 112(1976), 151-154.

B u r t o n , J. (1949) Insects rediscovered at Fritton Warren.

'I rans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 7, 6 - 8 .

Elliott, A . E. (1930) The Coleoptera of Suffolk. Second S u p p l e m e n t . Trans Suffolk Nat. Soc. 1, 121-6.

Kloet, G . S. & Hincks, W. D. (1977) A check list of British insects. 2nd edn. Handbk. Ident. Br. Insects. 11 (3), 1-105.

M o r l e y , C. (1899) The Coleoptera of Suffolk. Plymouth.

Morley, C. (1915) The Coleoptera of Suffolk. First Supplement. Plymouth.

N a s h , D . R. (1974) F o u r species of Coleoptera probably new to the Suffolk County List. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 16, 211-14.

N a s h , D . R. (1975a) Dorcatoma chrysomelina Sturm (Col., A n o b i i d a e ) rediscovered in Suffolk. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 16, 3 9 2 - 3 .

Nash, D . R. (1975b) Dorcatoma serra Pz. (Col., Anobiidae): a notable addition to the Suffolk list. Entomologist's mon.

Mag. 110 (1974), 240.

Nash D . R . (1978) O n the larval food of Dorcatoma serra Panz. (Col., Anobiidae). Entomologist's mon. Mag. 113 (1977), 62.

H. Mendel, B.Sc., A.M.A., The Museum, High Street, Ipswich

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