NOTES ON THE SUFFOLK LIST OF COLEOPTERA: 9 18 SPECIES NEW TO THE SUFFOLK LIST

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NOTES ON THE SUFFOLK LIST OF COLEOPTERA

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in 1981 and 1982 (Owen, 1983a). The beetle has occurred in a variety of situations in broad-leaved woodland and is only known from four vicecounties in south eastern England. On 26 May 2001 I sieved a single female example at Great Martin’s Hill Wood, Capel St Mary East Suffolk (TM 0936) by breaking up a rotten oak branch. The species was also found new to Kent in 2001 (Nash, in press). *Trichiusa immigrata Lohse This little aleocharine, usually associated with decomposing plant material e.g. old dung heaps, compost and grass heaps, is believed to be a recent immigrant into Europe from North America (Lohse & Lucht, 1989). It was first found in Britain in Kent in 1992 (Heal, 1993) and since that time has spread rapidly with the most northern capture known to me coming from Yorkshire (Denton, 1998) and the most south western from South Devon (Welch & Sadler, 2000). Despite being a highly successful colonist, it is normally only found in small numbers. I have found it by sieving old dung heaps (first four localities) and damp straw (last locality), in five sites in East Suffolk: 7 April 1998, 1 ex., Stutton (TM 1333); 3 July 2001, 1 ex., White Horse Farm, Capel St Mary (TM 1037); 15 July 2001, 2 exx. near Wolves Wood, Hintlesham. (TM 0643). 11 July 2002, two or three near Barham Church (TM 1351); 4 July 2002, in abundance, White House Farm, Great Glemham (TM 3562). This appears to be only the third time the species has occurred in numbers in this country (Welch & Sadler, loc. cit.) and may indicate that dung heaps are not its preferred breeding site. EUCINETIDAE *Eucinetus meridionalis (Laporte de Castelnau) RDB3 This small leaping beetle was first added to the British list on the basis of specimens taken near Lymington, south Hampshire in 1968 (Gardner, 1969). It was later found on the Isle of Wight (Appleton, 1975). The larvae are believed to develop on fungoid growths under pine bark or in pine debris; adults occur under bark or on flowers in summer. Since David Appleton’s capture there appear to have been no further published captures until specimens were found under an old fence post with fungal mycelia in a pine plantation near Elveden, West Suffolk (TL 8077) in February and March, 1982 (Owen, 1983b). Two additional records from v.c. 26 can now be added: 6 August 1996, four swept , Center Parcs complex, Elveden (TL 8080) (G. Ackers; det. H. Mendel); 15 November 1996, under bark of fungoid pine stump, Thetford Warren Lodge (TL 8384) (H. Mendel and J. Owen). SCIRTIDAE *Prionocyphon serricornis (Muller, P. W. J.) Nb The larvae of this locally distributed but relatively infrequently recorded beetle develop among the detritus in the water-filled root-plates of mature trees, especially beech. Adults are usually taken by beating the branches of host trees, sweeping nearby or by rearing the larvae (vide Nash, 2000). Morley never found the species and it is only represented in his collection by a New Forest specimen from Donisthorpe. I have three Suffolk records:– v.c. 25: 20 September 1986, one swept near mature beeches, Shrubland Park Estate, Coddenham (TM 1253); 14 July 2001, one beaten from mature oak,

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 38 (2002)


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