NOTES ON THE SUFFOLK LIST OF COLEOPTERA: 12 TWENTY-SEVEN SPECIES NEW TO THE SUFFOLK LIST

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NOTES ON THE SUFFOLK LIST OF COLEOPTERA: 12 TWENTY-SEVEN SPECIES NEW TO THE SUFFOLK LIST WITH SIGNIFICANT RECORDS FROM THE YEAR 2004 DAVID R. NASH This paper discusses twenty-seven species of beetle which should be considered “New to Suffolk” for the Index to these Transactions; these species are asterisked. Noteworthy records from 2004 are also reported. All records are my own except where indicated. As in previous papers in this series, records are allocated to vice-county (VC25, East; VC26, West) and National Grid references are provided, with those assigned by me to old records being placed in square brackets.

The national status for scarce and threatened species is given, following Hyman (1992; 1994); an explanation of these categories is provided in a previous paper in this series (Nash, 2003). The national status assigned in early versions of English Nature’s “Recorder” database is provided for all other species.

Unless specifically mentioned, there are no Suffolk specimens of any of the species discussed in the Claude Morley/Chester Doughty collection at Ipswich Museum (in the following account simply referred to as the Morley Collection).

CARABIDAE All references to Luff in the following species’ accounts refer to Luff’s “Atlas” (1998). *Bembidion octomaculatum (Goeze) RDB1 and BAP This little ground beetle which occurs at the margin of fresh, still, waters was presumed extinct in this country until it was re-discovered by a reservoir in East Sussex (Jones, 1992). It has been found in other south-eastern localities since that time and Luff considers the current populations are the result of recent immigration from the continent. I have the following records: 31 May 2003, Cornard Mere VC26 (TL8838) (P. Harvey det. P. Hammond).

22 May 2004, 2 in flooded section of old moat, Cornard Mere S.W. T. Reserve VC 26 (TL8939) (M. Telfer) *Anisodactylus poeciloides (Stephens) RDB3 & BAP This rare ground beetle is shown in Luff (1998) to have a distribution confined to the south and south eastern coasts of Britain with the handful of recent records coming from the Thames estuary. Following its BAP designation (Anon, 1999), extensive surveys have shown that the beetle has been underrecorded (especially round the Thames estuary) and it has now been recorded from 18 sites since 1995 (Middlebrook, 2004). The survey has also discovered that the species, whilst restricted to saline habitats, is not strictly speaking a saltmarsh species and is not generally found close to the sea or areas of regular inundation. Its preferred habitat appears to be areas of bare ground with a growth of early successional halophyte plants such as Glasswort (Salicornia).

Such conditions typically occur along gently sloping margins of saline lagoons or brackish ditches and in saline hollows on grazing marshes.

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In 2004, I realised that I had few or no records for beetles from two local N.G. 1-km squares. Accordingly, I decided to set pitfall traps in one of these and, as a result, I discovered A. poeciloides.

Following this discovery, the beetle was found in other Suffolk localities. I now have the following records which are, of course, all from VC25.

19 May 2004, 2 grubbed in Salicornia area between borrow dyke and seawall whilst setting pitfalls, R. Stour estuary, Cattawade Creek, (TM1032); later ca 20 individuals were found in these traps run from 19 May 2004–13 June 2004 and one was trapped 30 May 2004–13 June 2004 on the creek side of the seawall.

1 July 2004, 1 grubbed cracked mud plates of dried up saline hollow at some distance from borrow dykes by R. Stour estuary, near Cattawade Creek, VC25 (TM0933).

23 June 2004, 6 in pitfall trap emptied on 23 June 2004 (set two days earlier), Airfield Marsh, Orford Ness (TM4349) (S. Warrington, det. DRN).

1 July 2004, 1 under decaying mat of “blanket weed”, Orford Ness (TM4550) (N. Cuming).

16 August 2004, a pair found under stones between dykes and seawall on R. Orwell estuary, Trimley Marshes N.R. (TM2535) during contract work for the BAP survey. (P. Hammond).

Morley never met with the species. *Stenolophus teutonus (Schrank) Nb On 27 September 2004 I received a delivery of four tons of 10 mm gravel which I was informed came from a pit at Kesgrave (I believe this to be Sinks Pit, Little Bealings, TM2246). Having barrowed most of this to the rear of my bungalow at Brantham (TM1134) I was having a drink when I noticed a beetle climbing up a five foot trellis nearby. Glancing at it in side view I thought it was merely Calathus melanocephalus (L.) which is common in the garden.

Something made me take a closer look at the dorsal surface and I was astonished to find that it was a specimen of Stenolophus teutonus. This medium-sized ground beetle occurs on damp, rather open ground such as is found in gravel pits, pond margins and on land-slipped cliffs. Luff’s distributuion map shows that it an exclusively southern species in Britain.

There is no doubt in my mind that the beetle was transported to my garden with the gravel and that this capture is another indication of the way in which carabids are being transported to new areas outside their previously recognised centres of distribution in this country (see Nash, 2003). Providing females arrive in a suitable habitat e.g. being moved from one sand or gravel pit to another, there is every chance that a species may establish itself.

Morley never found this species. *Badister collaris Motschulsky (= anomalous Perris) RDB1 and BAP This very rare ground beetle is found beside shaded ponds and pools in sand and gravel pits. At the time of Luff’s “Atlas” it was known only from the south of England from Kent to Dorset. Recently, the species appears to have been expanding its range northwards and it has been turning up on brownfield sites in the south east.

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On 22 May 2004, B. collaris occurred quite commonly to Mark Telfer at Cornard Mere S.W.T. Reserve, VC26 (TL8838) together with two examples in the old moat (TL8939).

The species is not represented in the Morley Collection.

LEIODIDAE *Colon zebei Kraatz RDBK It is likely that the species of this genus and subfamily breed in various underground fungi or moulds as do most of the Leiodinae. All species are rare.

They are usually captured with the help of a flight interception trap, by evening sweeping or sometimes by pitfalling.

On 30 May 1984, I swept a male of this very rare species near The Tower on the Shrubland Estate, Coddenham, VC25 (TM1253) (det. C. Johnson).

The species is unrepresented in the Morley Collection.

PTILIIDAE *Ptenidium intermedium Wankowicz Local This tiny beetle which occurs in damp marshy places and is found frequently in Phragmites and Carex litter has recently been found in both vice-counties as follows: 6 July 2004, 1 in litter, Hopton Fen, VC26 (TL9979) (teste C. Johnson).

10 August 2000, several from pitfalls in reedbed, Alton Water, Tattingstone Reservoir, VC25 (TM1338) (P. Lee; teste DRN/CJ).

The beetle is unrepresented in the Morley Collection.

PSELAPHIDAE Amauronyx maerkeli (Aubé) RDB3 This rarely recorded, intricately sculptured little beetle which is usually found in the company of ants, was placed on our list on the strength of a capture by a Miss Freeman from under leaves at Aspall Wood [VC25, TM1765] in 1861 and reported by Garneys (Morley, 1899). There appear to have been no other Suffolk captures since that time. According to Hyman & Parsons (1994) the beetle, although recorded from some 12 counties before 1970, has only been recorded from Surrey, Worcestershire and Denbighshire since 1969.

I took a single example in a pitfall trap set a metre or so from the edge of the Decoy Pond at Brantham VC25 (TM1033) between 30 May and 13 June 2004. The boggy edges of the pond are fringed in most places with Aspen (Populus tremula L.) whose accumulated dead leaves form a thick carpet in many areas.

There are no specimens in the Morley Collection.

STAPHYLINIDAE Rugilus fragilis (Gravenhorst) Na This species usually occurs in marshes and damp places but is sometimes found in drier situations. It was included in Morley’s “Coleoptera” (1899) on the strength of published captures by Garneys, all made I suspect, in the same locality during the years 1859–1863 and perhaps later. Morley (op. cit.) quoting from Fowler, gives “Aspall Wood, Suffolk, taken in abundance by the

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late Mr Garneys in faggots placed in a dry ditch, or watercourse, to afford a road for the passage of wagons.” (N.G. ref. as under previous species).

On 6 July 2004, I sieved two examples from a large pile of cut reeds at Hopton Fen, S.W.T. Reserve, VC26 (TL9979).

Morley never collected the species.

LAEMOPHLOEIDAE *Placonotus testaceus (Fabricius) A female of this probable addition to the British list was found on 8 June 2001 under the bark of a felled oak trunk in the wood yard on the Shrubland Estate, Coddenham, VC25 (TM1252). A detailed account has appeared elsewhere.

(Nash, 2005).

NITIDULIDAE *Epuraea fuscicollis Nb Our 22 species of Epurea are all more or less reddish or testaceous, mostly ca.

2–3 mm in length and occur under sappy bark, at flowing sap or in flowers.

Epuraea fuscicollis is a rarely recorded, widely distributed but local species, which the older collectors used to find at the exuding sap of trees attacked by caterpillars of the Goat Moth (Cossus cossus L.). Such trees appear to have become much rarer over the course of the last century (as has the moth) and Dutch Elm Disease, in removing a favoured choice of host for the moth larvae, has also made the location of certain beetles for long associated with such trees, more difficult.

A single female of E. fuscicollis was taken by Roger Booth in a pitfall trap (probably that at the base of a small oak tree) which was run between 28 July 2001–4 August 2001 at Thetford Warren, VC26 (TL8484). As far as I am aware, this is the first capture for East Anglia.

The species is unrepresented in the Morley Collection.

MELIGETHES Stephens Beetles of this genus are popularly known as Pollen beetles and include the ubiquitous Meligethes aeneus (F.), well known to gardeners because of the damage which it can cause to many flowering plants. 36 species with the same general facies are recorded from Britain, all of which feed as adults and larvae on unopened buds and flowers. With few exceptions, each species develops only on a specific plant although adults will often utilise other plants for feeding purposes.

Until recently, coleopterists in this country had to use the keys in German

by Spornraft (1967) for the secure identification of British Meligethes. The publication of Ashley Kirk-Spriggs’ monograph on pollen beetles (1996) revolutionised our knowledge of the genus. It incorporated a wealth of unpublished British data on biology and distribution accumulated by the late Dr. A. M. Easton (a world authority on Meligethes), with the author’s own study of the literature and over 20,000 specimens held in British museums and private collections as well as the results of his own fieldwork. Somewhat controversially, the details of all published records are summarised under each species account with details of records resulting from his and Dr. Easton’s work being confined to confirming the presence of each species at vice-county

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level. I have attempted to discover precise details of the Suffolk specimens which were the basis for the citation of vice-county records for our county but with limited success; the author left the country shortly after publication and data files left behind are incomplete.

In the species accounts below, a vice-county suffixed only with (Easton) or (A. K-S.) refers to a citation in the monograph for which no other information is at present available.

Morley appears never to have met with any of these ten species and most are unrepresented in his collection. *M. atramentarius Forster Nb Local on Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon (L.) Ehrend & Polatschek) predominantly in shaded deciduous woodland and coppice on heavy calcareous soils.

VC25 & 26 (Easton). *M. bidentatus Brisout Insufficiently known A rather rare species with a patchy distribution in England found on Dyer’s Greenweed (Genista tinctoria L.) in meadows, open woods and on roadverges, banks and heaths.

5 August 1962, 40+ exx., reared from G. tinctoria, Holton Park VC 25 [TM4078] A. Easton (in coll. Nat. Hist. Mus.; det. A..E. and A. K-S.). *M. erichsoni Brisout Nb Locally common but found only in south eastern and southern England on Horseshoe Vetch (Hippocrepis comosa L.) growing on chalk and limestone areas where short turf is present.

VC26 (Easton). *M. exilis Sturm Nb Local on Wild Thyme (Thymus polytrichus A. Kerner ex Borbas (= T. praecox Opiz subsp. arcticus (E. Durand) Jalas) chiefly on coastal cliffs and sanddunes, mainly in western Britain; it is another of the predominantly coastal species of coleoptera which occur in the Breck.

13 September 1932, 1 ex., Tuddenham, VC26 [TL77] (P. Harwood) (in coll.

Oxford Univ. Mus.; seen by A. K-S.).

15 June 1986, swept from roadside verge, Mildenhall, VC26 (TL7275) (H. Mendel). *M. gagathinus Erichson Nb Found locally on Corn Mint (Mentha arvensis L.) in West Wales, eastern and south-eastern England and a few other scattered localities.

VC25 & 26 (Easton). *M. haemorrhoidalis FĂśrster Nb First found in Kent in 1980 and later in Sussex, Surrey and Suffolk. Occurs on White Dead-nettle (Lamium album L.) predominantly in grassy places, woodland margins, hedgerows etc.

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28 September 1986, male on Campanula trachelium L., Bonny Wood, Barking, VC25 (TM0751) (H. Mendel) – see Kirk-Spriggs (1992) where the record is incorrectly assigned to VC26.

2 June 2002, 3 tapped from Lamium album L., Brantham, VC25 (TM1133) (C. Johnson). *M. incanus Sturm Nb Local and only in the eastern and south eastern part of England on Cat-Mint (Nepeta cataria L.) in hedgerows and on roadsides, banks and rocky places usually on calcareous soils.

For almost a century only a single specimen from Darenth Wood, Kent in July 1859 – was on record for this country. The species seems to have invariably been mistaken in Britain for umbrosus Sturm until Easton cleared up the confusion yet, prior to Kirk-Spriggs publication which reports incanus from some 19 counties, only one other record seems to have been published (Allen, 1953).

VC 25 & 26 (Easton).

4 June 2001, common on Cat-Mint in my garden, Brantham, VC25 (TM1134).

It occurred the following summer but the plant was removed shortly afterwards. *M. kunzei Erichson Local Locally common on Yellow Archangel (Lamiastrum galeobdolon (L.) Ehrend & Polatschek). predominantly in shady deciduous coppice woodlands on heavy calcareous soils.

VC26 (Easton). *M. lugubris Sturm Nb Very local in England on Wild Thyme Thymus polytrichus A. Kerner ex Borbas (= T. praecox Opiz subsp. arcticus (E. Durand) Jalas in dry grassy habitats – heaths, grassland, banks, close-grazed pasture.

VC26 (Easton). *M. ochropus Sturm Nb Very local and only in eastern and southern England on Marsh Woundwort (Stachys palustris L.) in damp habitats such as the margins of rivers, ditches and ponds.

VC25 (Easton).

CRYPTOPHAGIDAE *Atomaria fimetarii (Fabricius) Nb This little beetle breeds in the base of the stipe of the Shaggy Ink Cap Fungus (Coprinus comatus (Mull. ex Fr.) S. F. Gray). Although widespread, it is probably under-recorded because, unlike many others of the genus, it seems to be rarely found unless its fungal host is dissected. Crowson (1962), however, records the capture of adults from Pleurotus on dead beeches in Scotland whilst Johnson (1993) in his “Atlas” refers to a capture from an old dung heap and its capture by sweeping.

On 27 September 1986, I found a few in, and on, ink caps in the wood yard of the Shrubland Estate, Coddenham,VC25 (TM1252) and a large number

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were reared from a few of these fungi over the next few weeks. This record is the basis for the Suffolk dot on the species map in Johnson’s “Atlas”.

COCCINELLIDAE *Harmonia axyridis (Pallas). The Harlequin Ladybird The first specimen of this Asian ladybird was found in Essex in September 2004 and since then has spread rapidly. Readers are referred to a recent White Admiral which published photos and press information from the Cambridge geneticist Dr. M. Majerus concerning this ladybird, its identification and plans to monitor its effect on some of our larger native ladybirds (Majerus, 2004). In a recent paper (Majerus, 2005) details the ten ladybirds which have been selected on the basis of their habitat and dietary preferences for this latter project which is based at Monks Wood B.R.C. These ten species are 7-spot, 2spot, 10-spot, 14-spot, Eyed, Water, 5-spot, Kidney-spot, Orange and 22-spot.

As such a wealth of information is available in the public domain on this newcomer to these shores, it is only intended here to pull together in tabular form, Suffolk records received from the Monks Wood B. R. C. 1 year project monitoring the spread of H. axyridis, records sent to Suffolk B.R.C. and records sent directly to myself in some form. It has not been possible to check the accuracy of the identification in all cases.

Grid

Location

Date

VC25 TM2043 TM2043 TM2043 TM1342

Rushmere St Andrew Rushmere St Andrew Rushmere St Andrew Ipswich

15.08.2004 07.09.2004 10.09.2004 07.10.2004

TM4664 TM3337 TM1343 TM5594 TM1441 TM0735 TM4657 TM4090 TM1941 TM0434 TM4656 TM2950 TM4557 TM1338 TM1370 TM4762 TM4975 TM4449 TM4348

Sizewell Belts Bawdsey Manor Ipswich Lowestoft Ipswich East Bergholt Aldeburgh Beccles Ipswich Stratford St Mary Aldeburgh Bromeswell Aldeburgh Tattingstone Braiseworth Sizewell Walberswick Orford Ness Orford Ness

07.10.2004 23.10.2004 23.10.2004 23.10.2004 24.10.2004 26.10.2004 29.10.2004 30.10.2004 30.10.2004 01.11.2004 03.11.2004 06.11.2004 10.11.2004 28.01.2005 09.02.2005 29.03.2005 01.06.2005 12.06.2005 22.06.2005

Recorder Jeff Higgott Jeff Higgott Jeff Higgott Robin Lee & Dave Fincham* Carl Powell Nigel Cuming Henry Gibson* Anon Adam Bimpson Mrs S. Tilley Nigel Cuming Penny Trayner* Daniel Cable-Davey* R. Ablitt Maggie Ling* Alan Hubbard M. Johnstone* Appleby Anon.* Carol Golding Nigel Cuming Jim Askins Stuart Warrington

Determiner teste MM teste MM teste MM

teste DRN

teste Colin Jacobs teste MM

teste DRN

UK Survey Team UK Survey Team

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Harmonia axyridis (Pallas). The Harlequin Ladybird. Table cont.

Grid

Location

Date

Recorder

TM4449 TM4348 TM2042 TM3440 TM4667 TM1743 TM4667 TM2831 TM4556 TM1444 TM1644 TM1644 TM1644 TM1455 TM2251 TM2043 TM4667 TM2736 TM4667 TM1246 TM1234 TM1645 TM0157 TM5196 TM1543 TM5494 TM5196 TM5494 TM5496 TM5594 TM5594 TG5200 TM3659 TM2832 TM2346 TM5196 TM2850 TM2749 VC26 TL7563 TL9345 TL7474 TL8046 TL8646 TL8545 TL8645

Orford Ness Orford Ness Purdis Farm Bawdsey Minsmere RSPB Ipswich Minsmere RSPB Landguard Aldeburgh Ipswich Ipswich Ipswich Ipswich Gosbeck Grundisburgh Ipswich Minsmere RSPB Trimley SWT Reserve Minsmere RSPB Bramford Brantham Ipswich Great Finborough Lowestoft Ipswich Gunton Lowestoft Lowestoft Lowestoft Lowestoft Lowestoft Hopton On Sea Farnham Felixstowe Martlesham Heath Lowestoft Melton Woodbridge

12.06.2005 22.06.2005 05.08.2005 01.09.2005 01.09.2005 03.09.2005 04.09.2005 06.09.2005 18.09.2005 23.09.2005 23.09.2005 23.09.2005 23.09.2005 24.09.2005 25.09.2005 29.09.2005 03.10.2005 06.10.2005 07.10.2005 09.10.2005 09.10.2005 15.10.2005 16.10.2005 18.10.2005 19.10.2005 22.10.2005 22.10.2005 22.10.2005 22.10.2005 22.10.2005 22.10.2005 25.10.2005 6.10.2005 26.10.2005 26.10.2005 27.10.2005 30.10.2005 31.10.2005

Jim Askins Stuart Warrington Neil Sherman Libby & Jenny Morris Robin Harvey Robert Garrod Robin Harvey Nigel Odin Nigel Cuming David Nash David Nash David Nash David Nash Gordon Brown Tony Prichard Neil Sherman Robin Harvey P. Pearson Robin Harvey Phil Wilkins David Nash David Nash Jeff Higgott A. Easton Jerry Bowdrey Colin Jacobs Colin Jacobs Colin Jacobs Colin Jacobs Colin Jacobs Colin Jacobs Colin Jacobs Tony Prichard Mrs B. Mathews Steve Goddard Colin Jacobs Paul Wigens Heather Paxman

Barrow Milden Mildenhall nr.

Cavendish Long Melford Long Melford Long Melford

02.11.2004 18.04.2005 23.04.2005 07.10.2005 22.10.2005 23.10.2005 30.10.2005

Miles Steeden* Arthur Watchman Tony Prichard P. Pearson Darren Underwood Darren Underwood Darren Underwood

*Compiled by M. Majerus & P. Mabbot

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Determiner

UK Survey Team

UK Survey Team

teste DRN teste DRN

teste DRN

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0

9

8

7

6

5

4

3 6

7

8

9

0

1

2

3

4

5

Tetrad distribution of Harlequin ladybird, all records.

RHIZOPHAGIDAE *Rhizophagus picipes (Olivier) Na This is one of the scarcer and less frequently recorded members of the genus.

Peacock (1977) in her “Handbook” on the family reports it from sap, under bark and in fungi and rotting vegetation. She does not refer to the fact observed by myself and a number of other coleopterists, that this species appears to be taken quite often from under the bark of logs and tree trunks which have fallen into the water of rivers etc. Such waterlogged trunks are the invariably chosen breeding site for one of our rarest rhizophagids, Cyanostolus aeneus (Richter).

In 2004, I found R. picipes on two occasions viz.

18 May–30 May, 1 female in pitfall on sandy estuary shore 2 m from high tide mark and near shoreline oaks, Stutton,VC25 (TM1433).

19 May–30 May, 1 male in pitfall trap in saltmarsh by base of sea wall.

Cattawade Creek, VC25 (TM1032).

It is interesting to speculate upon where these two specimens had come from and how they may have ended up in a pitfall trap. Searching the loose

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bark of the shoreline oaks at Stutton revealed no other examples or other sapfeeding beetles. At Cattawade Creek there are no trees at all in the vicinity of the trap. Perhaps this specimen may have been carried there with general tidal refuse or on a piece of log or bark. Another possibility, applicable to both specimens, is that they may have been attracted to the smell of the 50% malt vinegar used as a preservative in the traps; vinegar is known as an attractant for carabid beetles in many parts of the world.

There are no specimens in Morley’s collection.

ENDOMYCHIDAE *Holoparamecus caularum (Aubé) Synanthropic On 27 June 2004, I sieved a single example of this tiny 1·2 mm long, rarelyrecorded beetle, from an old dungheap at Stutton VC25 (TM1433). Also present were Trichiusa immigrata Lohse and many Euconnus duboisi Méquignon both of which have been recently added to the Suffolk list in previous papers in this series. The latter now appears to have been recorded in more Suffolk localities than in any other county.

In the higher classification of coleoptera, the genus was placed by Crowson in its own family, Merophysiidae but the latter is now usually considered a subfamily within the family Endomychidae, with Holoparamecus placed in its own subfamily, Holoparamecinae. (Lawrence and Newton, 1995).

Morley never found this species.

MELRYIDAE *Axinotarsus marginellus (Laporte de Castelnau) Naturalised This pretty little beetle was added to the British list on the basis of specimens taken in two localities in South Hampshire in 1967 (Allen, 1971). Since that time it has spread widely in the south of the country and I have the following records from VC25: 25 May 1980, 1 reared from pupa found in log on beach, Bawdsey (TM3438) (H. Mendel).

29 June 2004, 1 swept from clover on edge of Bentley Long Wood, (TM1038).

Axinotarsus ruficollis (Olivier) Local This species was first found in the county by J. J. Walker who came across it commonly at Brandon [TL78] in July, 1885 (Morley 1899). According to an annotation in Morley’s own copy of this work it occurred to Tomlin in the same locality but no other details are provided. Tomlin’s collection is in Cardiff Museum and they were able to confirm that there was a single specimen simply labelled “Brandon”. Tomlin kept notebooks early in his career but gave up keeping them after 1903. As there is no notebook reference number on the specimen’s mounting card it indicates that the beetle was taken post-1903. As far as I am aware, the beetle was then lost sight of in the county until 27 June 2004, when a single example was found by Jerry Bowdrey on a dead beech trunk in a wooded area at East Bergholt, VC25 (TM0733).

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BRUCHIDAE *Bruchidius varius (Olivier) Bruchidius varius was first found in this country in West Sussex in 1994 (Hodge, 1997) and has been slowly spreading in grassy places in the south of the country since that time. It was found in South Essex in 1999 (Cox, 2001) and, realising that it could well turn up in Suffolk at any time, I had been keeping a close watch for it whilst sweeping its foodplants which are species of Trifolium. On July 29 2004 I swept two females from White Clover (Trifolium repens L.) on the edge of Bentley Long Wood, VC25 (TM1038).

Later in the year, on 16 August, B. varius was swept by Peter Hammond near the sea wall in Trimley Marshes VC25 (TM2535).

CERAMBYCIDAE *Glaphyrus (formerly Molorchus) umbellatarum (Schreiber) Na The discovery of a native longhorn beetle new to Suffolk after almost two centuries of recording of the county’s coleoptera is a highly noteworthy event given the long established popularity of the group with collectors because of their spectacular appearance and the relative ease with which most species in this country can be identified.

On 6 June 2004, a specimen of G. umbellatarum (a very local and much declined species in this country) was beaten from a recently dead branch of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.) on the edge of Fakenham Wood VC26 (TL9276) by Martin Rejzek, an acknowledged authority on the Palaearctic cerambycids who has recently moved to this country to take up a post at the University of East Anglia. His extensive first-hand knowledge of the biology of cerambycids (including the recognition of all our species from their larvae and their characteristic larval borings) means that there will certainly be further significant discoveries and observations as he works our longhorn fauna. We are, indeed, fortunate that he has chosen this region as his base.

Morley never found this beetle anywhere.

SCOLYTIDAE *Xyleborus dispar (Fabricius) Nb One example of this sexually dimorphic bark beetle was collected by Richard Wilson (det. J. Ashby) in a pitfall trap run on the open heath at Minsmere R.S.P.B. Reserve, VC25 (TM4666) between 7 May 1998–22 May 1997.

According to the well-known coleopterist and professional economic entomologist A. M. Massey (1946), X. dispar is a widely but locally distributed pest of apple and plum in the U.K. and is more common in the south of England. Adults and their larvae may be found in their tunnels in the heartwood at all times of the year but adults seem to be most common from January to June with males being rarer and chiefly occurring in winter. The beetle also breeds in oak, beech, holly etc. *Ernobius pini (Sturm) Naturalised In his study of the species of the genus described early last century by David Sharp, Johnson (1965) established that Sharp’s oblitus was conspecific with pini of Sturm and published personally confirmed records of it from six

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southern counties. Among these is the following “W. SUFFOLK. – Barton Mills (T. Hudson Beare)”. Hudson Beare collected on a number of occasions in Suffolk and Morley includes details of some of his captures in these Transactions but it appears that Morley was not apprised of this particular capture. Wishing for more precise details, I contacted Royal Scottish Museum which houses the Hudson Beare Collection and was able to establish that they had a male and female of E. pini collected at Barton Mills [VC26, TL77] on 30 May 1920. To this first published county record I can add two others: 3 June 1982 – beaten self-sown pine, Icklingham Plains, VC26 (TL7573) (C. Johnson).

25 June 2004 – male beaten from dead pine branch, Martin’s Glen, Little Martin’s Hill Wood, Bentley, VC25 (TM1036).

When the aedeagus of the Bentley beetle was dissected out to confirm identity, I found that it exhibited a peculiar male genital character found in some species of this genus viz. reversion of the aedeagus with all three lobes reversed (i.e. they present a perfect mirror image). Johnson (1965) considered that this would not affect the copulatory efficiency of such individuals and some years later in his review of the palaearctic species of the genus (Johnson, 1975) he observed that this reversed condition was dominant in pini but rare in the other species.

Acknowledgements I thank: Roger Booth, Jerry Bowdrey, Nigel Cuming, Howard Mendel, Martin Rejzek, Mark Telfer, Peter Hammond, Peter Harvey, Colin Johnson (also for identification of C. zebei and confirmation of P. intermedium) and Stuart Warrington for permission to include their unpublished records; Max Barclay (Natural History Museum), Darren Mann (Oxford University Museum) and Brian Levy (Cardiff Museum) for help with tracing sources of Meligethes data and the latter also for information on the Tomlin collection; Graham Rotheray (Royal Scottish Museum) for details from the Hudson Beare collection; David Lampard (Curator, Natural History, Ipswich Museum) for facilities and access to the Morley/Doughty collection and associated documentation; Dr. Mike Cox for information from his forthcoming chrysomelid “Atlas”; Peter Brown, Harlequin Survey, Monks Wood B. R. C. for details of Suffolk records; all those named who sent in records of H. axyridis.

Finally, I am grateful to the following for permission to record on their property or that in their care: Andrew Excell and Suffolk Wildlife Trust (Hopton Fen); Alice Parfitt (formerly of R.S.P.B., Minsmere); Lord de Saumarez (Shrubland Estate); Mr. M. Steward (Bentley Long Wood); The Rt. Hon. Peter Strutt (Stutton Estate); Major Gurney (Little Martin’s Hill Wood).

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David R. Nash 3 Church Lane, Brantham, Suffolk CO11 1PU

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