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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 39
I have the following records: 29 August 1972, sieved from an old straw stack, Wangford, v.c. 25 [TM47] (Aubrook, n. d.); 26 March 2002, one ex. sieved from cut grass by pond on the edge of the park at Thornham Magna Field Centre near Eye, v.c. 25 (TM 1071). CRYPTOPHAGIDAE *Cryptophagus angustus Ganglbauer Nb Cryptophagus angustus is one of our scarcer Cryptophagus species and is associated with coniferous woodland where it chiefly occurs under the bark of pine. It is found widely in Scotland and has been recorded from East Anglia and South East England. Hyman & Parsons (1994) suggest that it may be a species of our native Scottish pine forests which has colonised pine plantations in the south of the country. I beat a single example from ivy clothing an ancient isolated oak in an arable field close to a pine plantation on the Shrubland Estate, Coddenham, v.c. 25 (TM 1153) on 28 October, 1983. The species is unrepresented in the Morley collection PHALACRIDAE *Phalacrus brunnipes (=championi Guillebeau) Na The larvae of Phalacrus species inhabit smutted grasses and sedges. P. brunnipes is the rarest and most localised of our five British species. It is principally (but not exclusively) a saltmarsh insect, occurring predominantly in south eastern England and East Anglia although also occurrring in Scotland (Hyman & Parsons, 1992). These authors cite its post-1970 occurrence in East Suffolk but I have so far been unable to trace the source of their information. I have the following records from East Suffolk: 16 June 2002, several on smutted grass by R. Stour saltmarsh, Brantham (TM 1233); 29 May 2002, two exx. swept in the woodland garden of Higham Lodge, Higham (TM 0336); 16 June 2003, one swept in saltmarsh, Aldeburgh (TM 4654) (M. Collier). The beetle is unrepresented in the Morley collection. COCCINELLIDAE Scymnus schmidti Fursch Nb This recently described, small and rather scarce ladybird associated with lowgrowing vegetation on well-drained soils (sand dunes, chalk downland, heathland) was added to the Suffolk list by Mendel (1989) who found a single specimen under a fallen fence post on the Icklingham Plains, West Suffolk in 1981. On 7 July 1998 I took two examples of S. schmidti by grubbing around Sheep’s sorrel (Rumex acetosella L.) etc. in an area of sandy rabbit scrapes and burrows at East Bergholt, v.c. 25 (TM 0934). ENDOMYCHIDAE Sphaerosoma pilosum Panzer (=piliferum auctt. Brit.) Local This little beetle associated with mouldy twigs and branches was included (as Alexia pilifera Mull.) in Morley (1899) on the strength of Stephens’ record of it from oak in Suffolk in his “Illustrations” (1827–1835). Later, in his
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 39 (2003)