The Phalacridae (Coleoptera, Cucujoidea) of Canada: new records, distribution, and bionomics with a particular focus on the Atlantic Canadian fauna

Abstract

The Canadian Phalacridae are briefly surveyed. Two species, Phalacrus politus Melsheimer and Olibrus vittatus LeConte, are newly recorded in Canada. As a result, eight phalacrids are now known to occur in Canada. Thirteen new provincial records are reported including one from Saskatchewan, two from Manitoba, two from New Brunswick, three from Nova Scotia, two from Prince Edward Island, and three from Newfoundland and Labrador. The four species and ten provincial records of Phalacridae reported from provinces in Atlantic Canada are the first records of this family in the region. Information on the bionomics of these species is briefly summarized. The species include Phalacrus penicillatus Say, Phalacrus politus Melsheimer (a smut-feeding species associated with corn, sorghum, and other grasses), Olibrus vittatus LeConte, Olibrus semistriatus LeConte (an abundant floricolous species found in the heads of several genera of Asteraceae), Acylomus pugetanus Casey (an ergot-feeding beetle associated with various grains and wild grasses), and Stilbus apicalis (Melsheimer) (an apparently surface-feeding, mold-grazing, facultatively parthenogenic species). The discovery of P. politus on insular Newfoundland is particularly noteworthy and represents a range extension of about 1,260 km. The possible origins of this apparently isolated and disjunct population are discussed, focusing on the glacial history of the region.