New records of Nitidulidae and Kateretidae ( Coleoptera ) from New Brunswick , Canada

Th e Nitidulidae (sap beetles) and Kateretidae (short-winged fl ower beetles) from New Brunswick are surveyed. As a result of recent fi eld work and a survey of museum specimens, 46 species have now been recorded in the province, 32 of which are newly recorded in New Brunswick. Epuraea obliquus Hatch is removed from New Brunswick’s faunal list. Th e distribution and bionomics of newly recorded species are summarized. Th e New Brunswick fauna consist of 33 Nearctic species, four Holarctic species, and nine adventive species. Historical early dates of detection of all nine adventive species found in the province are provided.


Introduction
Th e Nitidulidae are an abundant and widespread beetle family (there are circa 2,800 species worldwide and 165 species in North America).Many genera are saprophagous and mycetophagous, although some are anthophilous, carrion feeders, inquilines, and even predators (Habeck 2002b;Cline 2005).In Atlantic Canada, the anthophilous genera Conotelus, Colopterus (Cillaeinae), and Meligethes (Meligethinae) are found in the blossoms of various fl owers.Species of Colopterus (Cillaeinae), Carpophilus (Carpophilinae), Epuraea (Epuraeinae), Cryptarcha, Glischrochilus (Cryptarchinae), Soro-nia, and Lobiopa (Nitidulinae) are found at sap fl ows, decaying fruit, fermenting plant extracts, in subcortical habitats, and other similar decomposing microhabitats.Species of Phenolia and Stelidota (Nitidulinae), as well as some Epuraea are associated with decomposing fungi.Many nitidulids also have been associated with oak wilt fungal mats (Cease and Juzwik 2001).Carpophilus often are pests of dried, stored products and can be found in food processing facilities.Omosita and Nitidula (Nitidulinae) live and breed in carrion.Th e Kateretidae, in the past frequently treated as a subfamily of the Nitidulidae, are a much smaller family (there are fewer than 100 species worldwide and 11 in North America).Kateretids are phytophagous; larvae feed in seed capsules and adults feed on pollen and fl owers of host plants (Kirk-Spriggs 1996;Habeck 2002a).
Despite their economic importance and diversity, Nitidulidae and Kateretidae have received relatively little attention in Atlantic Canada.McNamara (1991) recorded 13 species from New Brunswick, 15 from Nova Scotia, three from Prince Edward Island, and 13 in Newfoundland and Labrador (a total of 28 species in the region) from a total of 101 species then known to occur in Canada.Majka and Cline (2006) surveyed the fauna of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island adding 26 species to the Nova Scotia fauna and nine to the Prince Edward Island fauna.As part of continuing eff orts to document the beetle biodiversity within Atlantic Canada, we report new records of Nitidulidae and Kateretidae from New Brunswick.

Methods and conventions
Specimens of Nitidulidae and Kateretidae originating in New Brunswick from various collections were examined and identifi ed.Additional published records for species of these families were also integrated into the analysis.Codens of collections referred to in this study include: CGMC Christopher G. Majka Habeck (2002aHabeck ( , 2002b) ) and Audisio (1993) except that we employ the name Kateretidae Erichson, 1843 rather than Brachypteridae Erichson, 1845as in Habeck (2002a) for reasons discussed in Cline (2006) and in conformity with Jelínek (2007a).We also treat Epuraea Erichson, 1843 as a member of the subfamily Epuraeinae Kirejtshuk, 1986, in keeping with Jelínek (2007b), rather than retaining it in the Carpophilinae Erichson, 1842as in Habeck (2002b).

Results
Four species of Kateretidae and 42 species of Nitidulidae are now known from New Brunswick, 32 of which are newly recorded in the province (Table 1).One species, Epuraea obliquus Hatch, is removed from New Brunswick's faunal list.Specifi c details of these records follow.For each species, the location, collection date, collector, habitat and ecological information, number of specimens, and collection coden of all specimens examined is reported.Th is is followed by a brief summary of the distribution and bionomics of the species and any other pertinent information on the status of the species.Th is adventive Palearctic species has been recorded in Canada from British Columbia west to Québec, Newfoundland, and Nova Scotia (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and in the United States along the Atlantic seaboard south to North Carolina and Tennessee, and west to Missouri, Iowa, and Wisconsin.In the western United States it has been found in Colorado, Washington, and California (Parsons 1943).Erichson (1843) fi rst recognized this species as occurring in the Nearctic by noting that the specimen sent to him from Connecticut by Zimmerman was not different from specimens he possessed that originated from the Palearctic.Th is note likely was the basis for Melsheimer's (1846Melsheimer's ( , 1853) ) record of the species.Th e common host is nettle (Urtica spp., Urticaceae) (Kirk-Spriggs 1996); however, it has been reported from elder (Dillon and Dillon 1961) and sifted from sphagnum moss (Blatchley 1910).

Cillaeinae Kirejtshuk and Audisio, 1986
Colopterus truncatus (Randall, 1838) Colopterus truncatus has been recorded in Canada from the Yukon east to Nova Scotia (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and it is broadly distributed in the United States south through Central America to Brazil (Parsons 1943).Adults are found under bark and feed on sap (Parsons, 1943) or on molds in subcortical environments (A.Cline, pers. obs.).Price and Young (2006) found the species on large-toothed poplar (Populus grandidentata Michx., Salicaceae), and maple (Acer sp., Aceraceae).

Carpophilinae Erichson, 1842
Carpophilus brachypterus ( (Parsons 1943;Chandler 2001).Price and Young (2006) found them on fl owers of plum (Prunus americana Marsh.), choke cherry (P.virginiana L.), apple (Pyrus malus L.) (Rosaceae), everlasting (Antennaria neglecta Greene), and white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum Houtt.)(Asteraceae), in leaf litter, on rotting fruit, recently cut hardwoods, on driftwood, scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), white pine (Pinus strobus L.) (Pinaceae), and willow (Salix sp., Salicaceae) in a wide variety of forested and open habitats.Dillon and Dillon (1961)  In Canada this adventive species has been recorded from British Columbia east to Québec (McNamara 1991), and in the United States it is widely distributed from Washington and California east to Texas and Florida and north to Wisconsin and Maine; also in Alaska (Parsons 1943;Downie and Arnett 1996;Chandler 2001).Horn (1879) remarked that the species was "widely distributed over the region east of the Rocky Mountains."Th e species was reported from Nova Scotia by Majka and Cline (2006) but only as an intercepted species found on imported corn (Zea mays L., Poaceae).Th is cosmopolitan species has been found on a vast assortment of fresh and dried fruits and stored products including dried fruits such as apples, apricots, bananas, fi gs, prunes and raisins; fresh fruits and vegetables such as apples, apricots, oranges, dates, grapefruits, limes, maize, melons, pineapples, pears, peaches, persimmons, plums, and tomatoes; on grape skins, sugar, honey, grain, bread, biscuits, rice, avocado seeds, cotton seeds, shelled peanuts, corn meal, sorghum, cloves, and other spices (Hinton 1945).
Th is adventive species originates in Southeast Asia and is frequently associated with dried stored products.In Canada it has been recorded from Manitoba east to Québec and Nova Scotia (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and in the United States from California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, and Vermont (Downie and Arnett 1996;Chandler 2001).In Great Britain and Scandinavia it has successfully adapted from stored dried products to outdoor environments such as compost heaps (Hammond 1974;Ødegaard and Tømmerås 2000) while in Australia it has colonized peach and nectarine orchards (James et al. 2000).Parsons, 1945  Carpophilus sayi has been recorded in Canada from Manitoba, Québec, and Nova Scotia (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and in the United States from Maine south to Georgia, west to Texas and New Mexico, and north to Iowa and Wisconsin; also in California (Parsons 1943;Chandler 2001;Price and Young 2006).Th e species is frequently taken at sap fl ows of large-toothed poplar (Populus grandidentata), and maple (Acer sp.) and is associated with oak wilt fungus mats (Cease and Juzwik 2001;Price and Young 2006).

Epuraeinae Kirejtshuk, 1986
Epuraea aestiva (Linnaeus, 1758)  Th is Holarctic species is widely distributed in Europe, northern Asia, and throughout the United States (Parsons 1943, Downie andArnett 1996).In Canada it has been recorded from British Columbia east to Québec and Nova Scotia (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006).In Nova Scotia it was found in a great variety of forested and open environments on fl owers of trees and shrubs, in compost piles, and at sap (Majka and Cline 2006).(Parsons 1943;Chandler 2001).Th e species is associated with oldgrowth forests (Zeran et al. 2006) and is found at sap, under bark and on fl owering trees, shrubs, and plants (Parsons 1943).Price and Young (2006) found it on wounded large-toothed poplar (Populus grandidentata), and oak (Quercus sp.) and on fl owers of Prunus spp.and tansy (Tanacetum vulgare L., Asteraceae).In Nova Scotia it is found at sap, primarily in deciduous forests (Majka and Cline 2006).(Parsons 1943).No bionomical information is available for this species, but we suspect it to be mycetophagous on various fungal substrata in a similar manner as its close relative E. helvola.Hatch, 1962 Th is species was reported as occurring in New Brunswick by McNamara (1991).We have not been able to fi nd any specimens or published records of this species collected in New Brunswick.Anthony Davies (pers.comm.)informed us that no specimens from New Brunswick are in the CNC, thus the source of the original report is not established.Consequently, this species is removed from the New Brunswick faunal list.(Parsons 1943).Th e species has been found under the bark of beech (Fagus sp., Fagaceae), in fungi, under old leaves, and in humus (Parsons 1943).Horn, 1879Albert Co.: Mary's Pt., 45.73°N, 64.67°W, 9.VIII.2002, 12.V.2007 Epuraea peltoides has been recorded in Canada from Alberta east to Québec and Nova Scotia (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and in the United States south to Virginia and west to Indiana and Wisconsin (Parsons 1943).Price and Young (2006) found it on rotting peaches, and at wounded hardwood trees.Québec, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and in the United States in Alaska California, Nevada, Colorado, and New Mexico, east to Indiana, West Virginia, Virginia, New Hampshire, and Maine (Parsons 1943;Chandler 2001).Th e species is found on the bark of recently dead pines (Pinus pp.) (Price and Young 2006).In Nova Scotia it was found at sap on trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx., Salicaceae), and under bark of fallen white pine (Pinus strobus L., Pinaceae) (Majka and Cline 2006).
Th is adventive Palearctic species is widely distributed in Europe and is recorded in Canada from British Columbia west to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and is widely distributed in the United States (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006;Parsons 1943).Omosita discoidea is found on dry carrion, bones, hides, fungi, and in decaying vegetation (Downie and Arnett, 1996).Nitidula bipunctata has been recorded in Canada from the Yukon and British Columbia east to Québec and Nova Scotia (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and in the United States from Maine south to Virginia and Kentucky, west to Texas and north to Michigan, Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota; also on the Pacifi c coast from Alaska south to Oregon and Idaho (Parsons 1943;Hatch 1962).Long regarded as an adventive Palearctic species, Majka and Cline (2006) drew attention to the fact that the earliest reports on the continent are from high altitudes in an isolated range of the Rocky Mountains in 1878, a very unlikely location for an introduced species to be found, thus suggesting a possible Holarctic distribution.Th e species is found on dry carrion (Dillon and Dillon 1961;Downie and Arnett 1996).In Nova Scotia most specimens were found in association with decomposing pigs (Sus scrofa Linnaeus) (Suidae) (Majka and Cline 2006).Settlement, 45.8395°N, 66.7391°W, 29.VIII.2007, 8.IX.2007, 26.IX.2007,R.P. Webster, mixed forest, in pile of corncobs and cornhusks, (4, RWC); same locality, 1. VIII.2007, mixed forest, m.v. light, (1, RWC).

Glischrochilus quadrisignatus
Glischrochilus quadrisignatus has been found in Canada from British Columbia east to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and in the United States from Maine south to Florida and west through Kansas to Utah and Wyoming (Parsons 1943;Chandler 2001).Th e species is abundant throughout much of the Maritime Provinces (Majka and Cline 2006) and is attracted to decaying fruit, vegetables, and the odor of anything sweet (Downie and Arnett 1996).Price and Young (2006) found it associated with rotting fruit, corn, dung, carrion, wounded trees, a polypore fungus, and under the bark of black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh., Rosaceae).Glischrochilus vittatus has been found in Canada from British Columbia to Québec and Nova Scotia (McNamara 1991;Majka and Cline 2006), and in the United States pointed out has been hitherto relatively poorly investigated.In the 17 years since Bousquet (1991) was published, 1,032 species of beetles have been added to the faunal list of Nova Scotia and 555 species to the faunal list of Prince Edward Island (Majka 2008).At least 653 species have been added to the faunal list of New Brunswick (C.G.Majka, unpublished data).All these numbers are indicators of how poorly known the baseline biodiversity of the region has been.Th e above results add substantially to the known nitidulid and kataretid faunas of New Brunswick.Forty-six species are now known from the province.Although the present study together with that of Majka and Cline (2006) have better defi ned the nitidulid and kataretid faunas of the region, further research and fi eld work is needed to fully understand the distribution, abundance, and bionomics of this diverse group of beetles in the region.