The Mycetophagidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada

Abstract The Mycetophagidae (hairy fungus beetles) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada are surveyed. Seven species in the genera Mycetophagus, Litargus, and Typhaea are found in the region. Six new provincial records are reported including Mycetophagus punctatus and Mycetophagus flexuosus, whichare newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces. The distribution of all species is mapped, colour habitus photographs of all species are figured, and an identification key to species is provided. The discussion notes that four of the species found in the region are apparently rare, possibly due to the history of forest management practices in the region; a situation similar to that of a significant proportion of other saproxylic beetles found in the Maritime Provinces.


Introduction
Th e Mycetophagidae (hairy fungus beetles) are a family of relatively small, fungus-eating beetles.Only fi ve genera and 26 species are known in North America, 15 of which have been recorded in Canada (Bousquet 1991;Young 2002).Parsons (1975) provided the most recent species-level taxonomic revision of the family.Only two species, Mycetophagus quadriguttatus Müller and Typhaea stercorea (Linnaeus), have previously

Results
In the course of this survey 175 specimens of Mycetophagidae were examined -8 from New Brunswick, 149 from Nova Scotia, and 18 from Prince Edward Island.Included were specimens of seven species in three genera.Notes.Mycetophagus fl exuosus is newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces from New Brunswick (Fig. 1).Cline and Leshen (2005) recorded it from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) Fries; Weiss (1920) recorded it from turkey-tail polypore (Tramates versicolor (Fr.)Pil.); and Minch (1952) and Pielou and Pielou (1968) recorded it from birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus) (Fr.)Kar.Notes.Mycetophagus punctatus Say is newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces from Nova Scotia.Both specimens were collected in the central mainland of Nova Scotia (Fig. 1).Th e species is common under loose bark and on fungi (Downie and Arnett 1996); specifi cally it has been found on a dead black oak (Quercus velutina Lamb.) in Virginia (Robinson 1918); on rooting polypore (Polyporus radicatus Schw.) in Iowa (Weiss 1924); on oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) (Cline and Leshen 2005); and on birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus) growing on gray birch (Betula populifolia Marshall) in New York (Minch 1952).Notes.Mycetophagus serrulatus Casey is newly recorded in New Brunswick.Th e species was reported from Nova Scotia by Dollin et al. (2008) (Fig. 1).Both specimens were found in coniferous forests, one on a polypore fungus growing on a white birch (Betula papyrifera Marshall).Cline and Leshen (2005) recorded it from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus).Notes.Mycetophagus pluripunctatus LeConte is newly recorded in New Brunswick.Th e species was reported from Nova Scotia by Bishop et al. (2009) and appears to be distributed throughout much of the mainland of Nova Scotia (Fig. 1).In Nova Scotia, it was collected almost exclusively with fl ight intercept traps in deciduous forests.Pielou and Pielou (1968) reported it on birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus), Cline and Leshen (2005) recorded it from oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus), and Leschen (1988) recorded it from Spongipellis unicolor (Schw.)growing on a fallen white oak (Quercus alba L.) in Arkansas.Schwartz (1876) said it was "abundant in fungus" in Michigan.Notes.Mycetophagus quadriguttatus Müller is newly recorded in Nova Scotia (Fig. 1).Th e species was reported from New Brunswick by Bousquet (1991), however, I have not been able to locate a voucher specimen for this record; it is not present in the CNC nor was it reported from New Brunswick by Campbell et al. (1989).Pending confi rmation its status in New Brunswick should be regarded as provisional.In Nova Scotia, one specimen was collected in a grist mill and another in a compost heap.Campbell et al. (1989) reported the species in waste feed, sacked grain, grain elevators, warehouses, fl our mills, old fl our barrels, fungi at the base of old hay stacks, fungi on trees, a vegetable store, and a corn shop.

Mycetophagus (s. str.) serrulatus
Although Hatch (1962) thought it was probably an introduced species, other investigators (Parsons 1975;Bousquet 1991;Downie and Arnett 1996) have classifi ed it as a native Holarctic species.Mycetophagus quadriguttatus is widely distributed in Europe having been reported throughout the continent except for Corsica, Crete, Cyprus, Estonia, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, and Sicily (Nikitsky 2010), and is also found across North Africa, in the eastern Palaearctic, Asia, and Australia (Nikitsky 2010).Notes.Typhaea stercorea (Linnaeus) was reported from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island by Bousquet (1991).Th e species is widely distributed throughout the Maritime Provinces, including Cape Breton Island (Fig. 2).A majority of specimens were collected outdoors in native habitats.It is an adventive Palaearctic beetle found both outdoors and in association with various stored products.Typhaea stercorea has been found in corn fi elds (on decaying kernels of exposed ears), warehouses, stores, fl our mills, mangers, railway boxcars, dwellings, and granaries in stored grain and seeds, tobacco, peanuts, cacao, corn, millet, wheat, apricots, and moldy grape skins, as well as in nests of swans and moorhens (Campbell et al. 1989).In Nova Scotia it was reported in large numbers in dairy barns (Campbell et al. 1989).
Th e dates of earliest detection are given above: New Brunswick (1939), Nova Scotia (1919), andPrince Edward Island (1954).Typhaea stercorea is widespread in Europe, having been recorded in every country and region in the continent (Nikitsky 2010), and is also virtually cosmopolitan globally, being found in every region of the world except (doubtfully) South and Central America (Nikitsky 2010).Notes.Litargus tetraspilotus LeConte is newly recorded from Prince Edward Island.Klimaszewski and Majka (2007) fi rst reported this species in Nova Scotia.Th ere are  many records from the southern mainland of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, and Prince Edward Island (Fig. 1).Records from New Brunswick and the northern mainland of Nova Scotia are lacking, but it is probable that it is found throughout the region.

Discussion
Typhaea stercorea and Litargus tetraspilotus are abundant and widely distributed in the Maritime Provinces.Mycetophagus pluripunctatus appears to be uncommon but widely distributed on the mainland of Nova Scotia.Th e other four species of mycetophagids -Mycetophagus punctatus, M. fl exuosus, M. serrulatus, and M. quadriguttatus -are all represented by a handful of specimens or less.Th ey would all appear to qualify as "apparently rare" saproxylic beetles as defi ned by Majka (2007b) (i.e., representing < 0.005% of specimens examined from the region).In investigating 283 species of saproxylic beetles from 18 families, Majka (2007b) found that 33% of these fell into this category of apparently rare species.Similarly in examining the Endomychidae and Erotylidae of the Maritime Provinces, two other families of beetles closely associated with fungi, Majka (2007b) found that 40% of the 15 species found in the region are apparently rare.Majka (2007a,b) suggested that this large proportion might be ascribable to the history of forest management practices in the region.Th ese apparently rare species of Mycetophagus, three of which are closely associated with saproxylic fungi, may belong to this same suite of insects for similar reasons.
In general, mycetophagids have received rather little attention by researchers in North America, and the bionomics of many species have not been carefully investigated.Certainly this is true in the Maritime Provinces and additional fi eldwork in the region is required to ascertain more about their distribution, abundance, bionomics, and ecological role in the habitats that they inhabit.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Distribution of Typhaea stercorea in the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

Mycetophagus (s. str.) fl exuosus Say, 1826 Distribution. NEW BRUNSWICK: Madawaska County: Edmundston
newly recorded in the region.Four species are known from New Brunswick, six from Nova Scotia, and two from Prince Edward Island (Table1).
Mycetophagus fl exuosus Say is newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces from New Brunswick; Mycetophagus punctatus Say is newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces from Nova Scotia; Mycetophagus serrulatus Casey is newly recorded in New Brunswick; Mycetophagus pluripunctatus LeConte is newly recorded in New Brunswick; Mycetophagus quadriguttatus Müller is newly recorded in Nova Scotia; and Litargus tetraspilotus LeConte is newly recorded in Prince Edward Island -a total of fi ve new provincial records, two of which are

Table 1 .
Mycetophagidae fauna of the Maritime Provinces of Canada

NB NS PE Distribution in NE North America Mycetophaginae
MA, ME, NB, NH, NS, NY, ON, QC, VT Typhaea stercorea (Linnaeus) † 1 1 1 MA, ME, NB, NH, NS, NY, ON, PE, QC, RI, VT Litargus tetraspilotus LeConte 1 1 MA, ME, NH, NS, NY, ON, PE, QC, RI, VT totals 4 6 2 Notes: * Holarctic species; † adventive Palaearctic species; NB New Brunswick; PE Prince Edward Island; NS Nova Scotia.Distribution in northeastern North America: for the purposes of this treatment, northeastern North America is taken to consist of the following jurisdictions: CT Connecticut; LB Labrador; MA Massachusetts; ME Maine; NB New Brunswick; NF insular Newfoundland; NH New Hampshire; NS Nova Scotia; NY New York; ON Ontario; PE Prince Edward Island; PM Saint-Pierre et Miquelon; QC Québec; RI Rhode Island; and