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

Th e Canadian Phalacridae are briefl y 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. Th irteen 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. Th e four species and ten provincial records of Phalacridae reported from provinces in Atlantic Canada are the fi rst records of this family in the region. Information on the bionomics of these species is briefl y summarized. Th e 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 fl oricolous 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). Th e discovery of P. politus on insular Newfoundland is particularly noteworthy and represents a range extension of about 1,260 km. Th e possible origins of this apparently isolated and disjunct population are discussed, focusing on the glacial history of the region.


Olibrus semistriatus
Olibrus semistriatus is newly recorded in New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (Figs. 1,2).Th e species has previously been recorded from New Hampshire south to Pennsylvania and west through Ontario, Indiana, and Kansas to Manitoba, Colorado and Arizona (LeConte 1856; Gibson 1917;Campbell 1991;Downie and Arnett 1996;Chandler 2001;Goertz 2006).Th e larvae of Olibrus species live in the fl ower heads of species of Asteraceae in genera such as Ageratina, Aster, Bidens, Cirsium, Chrysopsis, Eupatorium, Solidago, and Vernonia, Olibrus vittatus is newly recorded in Canada.Th e species has previously been recorded in the United States from Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, and South Dakota (Snow 1881(Snow -1882;;Casey 1916;Downie and Arnett 1996;Peck and Th omas 1998;Goertz 2006;Gimmel 2008).No specifi c information on its biology is available, however, larvae in the genus Olibrus live in fl ower heads of Compositae and the pollen-feeding adults are often abundant of these plants (Steiner 2002).Casey, 1916 NEWFOUNDLAND: Labrador (Guillebeau 1894 Acylomus pugetanus is newly recorded in Atlantic Canada (Fig. 3).In Canada it has previously been recorded from Manitoba east to Québec (Campbell 1991) and in the United States from Maine and Washington state south to Virginia, Arkansas, Utah, and Oregon (Steiner and Singh 1987).Adults and larvae of A. pugetanus feed on the sclerotia of ergot fungi (Claviceps spp., Clavicipitaceae) found growing on grains and wild grasses such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rye (Secale cereale L.), quack grass (Agropyron repens (L.) Beauv.), meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.), and salt-meadow grass (Spartina patens (Ait.)Muhl.) (Poaceae) (Steiner and Singh 1987).Consequently they occur in open habitats where such grasses grow.In Nova Scotia many specimens have been collected in pastures.Th ere has been some interest in this species in relation to agriculture, both as a potential biocontrol agent of ergot, as well as a potential vector of the disease (Steiner and Singh 1987).Th e many specimens collected by car nets in Nova Scotia indicate that they fl y well and actively disperses aerially.Th is species has not been recorded in New Brunswick but in all probability occurs there.

Acylomus pugetanus
Note: based on a single specimen, Guillebeau (1894) described Eustilbus borealis, whose type locality is "Labrador."Matthew Gimmel has examined this specimen (MNHN) and it is an Acylomus, almost certainly A. pugetanus.Matthew Gimmel is presently working on a revision of the Phalacridae of North America, and the nomenclatural issue that this specimen raises will be addressed in the context of this larger revision.(Melsheimer, 1844) NEW BRUNSWICK: York Co. : New Maryland, 45.83ºN 66.73ºW, 26.VI.2003, R.P. Webster, mixed forest, at light, (1, RWC).NOVA SCOTIA: Annapolis Co.: 19.VI.1995,J. Ogden, (1, NSNR); Colchester Co.: Bible Hill, 5. VIII.2004, 14.V.2005, 23.V.2005, 31.V.2005, K. Aikens, pasture, sweep net, (12, CBU) Stilbus apicalis is newly recorded in Atlantic Canada (Fig. 3).Th e species has previously been recorded in eastern North America from Ontario and Maine, south to Florida, and west to Louisiana, Kansas, and Illinois; and in the west from British Columbia south through Idaho to California (Leng 1920;Campbell 1991;Downie and Arnett 1996;Chandler 2001;Gimmel 2008).Little is known about its bionomics except that individuals have been collected by sweeping grasses (Steiner 1984), a habitat and collection mode consistent with most of the specimens collected in Atlantic Canada.Specimens are also commonly collected at lights (White 1983).Dearborn and Donahue (1993) reported individuals from spruce (Picea sp.) in Chesuncook and Augusta, Maine.Steiner (1984) noted that populations are almost exclusively comprised of females, and considered that it is likely a surface feeding, mold grazing, facultatively parthenogenic species.Th e precise hosts of S. apicalis are unknown although some adults were found on an unidentifi ed smut growing on panic grass, P. dichotomifl orum (Steiner 1984).

Litochropus scalptus Casey, 1890
Litochropus scalptus has been recorded in Canada from Québec (Campbell 1991) and in the United States from the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Minnesota, and North Carolina (Leng 1920;Haarstad 2002;Gimmel 2008).Adults and larvae of the genus Litochropus have been reared and collected from fruiting bodies of Daldinia (Ascomycota: Xylariaceae) (Steiner 1984).

Discussion
Two species of phalacrids, Phalacrus politus and Olibrus vittatus, are newly recorded in Canada increasing the known Canadian fauna to eight species.Th irteen 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.
Although previously unrecorded in Atlantic Canada, the family is now known to occur throughout the region (Table 2).Four species are found in Atlantic Canada and ten new provincial records are reported from the region.Th e pollen feeding species, Olibrus semistriatus, is abundant and is widely distributed in the region.Phalacrus politus, another species found on fl ower heads, has been recorded from insular Newfoundland.Stilbus apicalis, a poorly known, apparent mold-grazing species, is apparently much less abundant but has been found in widely distributed sites in the Maritime Provinces.Acylomus pugetanus, an ergot-feeding phalacrid found in open grassland environments, is widely distributed in Nova Scotia and has been recorded from Labrador.Litochropus scalptus has been found in Québec (Campbell 1991) and should be sought in western regions of New Brunswick.
Th e discovery of Phalacrus politus in Newfoundland, the fi rst report of this species in Canada, is particularly noteworthy given that the nearest previous records are from western Maine.Th us the Newfoundland record represents a range extension of about 1,250 km.It is possible that P. politus does occur in intervening areas and simply has not been recorded to date, however, this seems improbable given that the substantial collecting eff ort for grassland dwelling Coleoptera in the Maritime Provinces.With the apparently large distribution gap, and Newfoundland's position as an island over 100 km distant from the nearest point of continental Nova Scotia, the presence of P. politus raises some intriguing zoogeographic questions.Hamilton and Langor (1987) reported similar disjunct distributions for endemic and relict species of leafhoppers in insular Newfoundland including species such as Idiocerus subnitens Sanders and DeLong (found in New England north to Vermont) and Empoasca coccinea Fitch (found north to Maine).While the Nova Scotia shelf was completely covered by ice during the maximum extent of the Wisconsinan glaciation (King 1996), Hamilton and Langor (1987) postulated that an unglaciated refugium on the St. Pierre banks south of Newfoundland resulted in the post-glacial disjunct distribution of these species.As well, there is evidence for nunataks (unglaciated hill crests) in Newfoundland (Grant 1989).Such glacial refugia are postulated to have been the sites for the survival and/or evolution of the endemic and relict leafhopper faunas found in Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island.Phalacrus politus could potentially be a member of this suite of insects that survived the Wisconsinan glaciation in such sites, subsequently re-colonizing Newfoundland after it retreat circa 18,000 years B.P.

Fig. 2 .
Fig. 2. Distribution of Olibrus semistriatus LeConte in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.and the pollen-feeding adults are often abundant on these plants(Lawrence 1991;Steiner 2002).In Nova Scotia specimens have been collected on Achillea millefolium L., Aster novi-belgii L., Solidago canadensis L., and Solidago rugosa Ait.(Asteraceae).Adults have also occasionally been found on other fl owers such as Verbascum thapsus L. (Scrophulariaceae) and Rosa rugosa Th unb.(Rosaceae).In New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island soecimens have frequently been collected in coastal localities where they are abundant on Solidago sempervirens L.

Fig. 3 .
Fig. 3. Distribution of Acylomus pugetanus Casey and Stilbus apicalis (Melsheimer) in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.Note: the Labrador record of A. pugetanus is not indicated.

Table 2 .
Th e Phalacridae of Atlantic Canada Notes: NB, New Brunswick; PE, Prince Edward Island; LB, Labrador; NS, Nova Scotia; NF, insular Newfoundland.Numbers indicate the number of county records.Th ere are 15 counties in New Brunswick, 18 in Nova Scotia, and 3 on Prince Edward Island.County divisions are not employed in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador so numbers from there simply indicate the presence of species.