Notes on Chauliognathus Pensylvanicus (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) and the Nature of Natural History
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The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 39 Numbers 3 & 4 - Fall/Winter 2006 Numbers 3 & Article 9 4 - Fall/Winter 2006 October 2006 A Friend Unmasked: Notes on Chauliognathus Pensylvanicus (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) and the Nature of Natural History Andrew H. Williams University of Wisconsin Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Williams, Andrew H. 2006. "A Friend Unmasked: Notes on Chauliognathus Pensylvanicus (Coleoptera: Cantharidae) and the Nature of Natural History," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 39 (2) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol39/iss2/9 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at [email protected]. Williams: A Friend Unmasked: Notes on <i>Chauliognathus Pensylvanicus</i> ( 200 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 39, Nos. 3 & 4 A FRIEND UNMASKED: NOTES ON CHAULIOGNATHUS PENSYLVANICUS (COLEOPTERA: CANTHARIDAE) AND THE NATURE OF NATURAL HISTORY Andrew H. Williams1 ABSTRACT Data from field observations from 1992 through 2006 and from museum specimens of adult Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (DeGeer) from Wisconsin are presented here, with information from the literature. Beetles were found using flowers of 183 species in 29 families growing outside cultivation in Wisconsin and in every Wisconsin county. All evidence supports the characterization of C. pensylvanicus as a prairie insect that also lives in other, early successional plant communities. ____________________ DEDICATION This paper is dedicated to the memory of Benjamin D. Walsh, who published basic life history information on Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (DeGeer) in “A Friend Unmasked” in 1868. Walsh’s article appeared in American Entomologist, the journal he established in partnership with Charles V. Riley that same year. NOMENCLATURAL NOTE The beetle usually referred to as Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus DeGeer over the past century was first described by DeGeer (1774) as Telephorus pen- sylvanicus. The spelling “pensylvanicus” was used by LeConte (1869, 1881), Hubbard (1880), Schwarz (1880) and Riley (1880), though Riley (1869, 1872, 1873) had earlier used the spelling “pennsylvanicus”. At the time of DeGeer’s description, “Pensylvania” was a common and apparently acceptable spelling for the colony, so his original spelling should not be considered incorrect. The correct name for this beetle is Chauliognathus pensylvanicus (DeGeer). INTRODUCTION Chauliognathus pensylvanicus is a distinctive, yellow and black beetle that is commonly found on flowers in late summer over much of the eastern United States (Miskimen 1966, White 1983). This species is often reported to visit flowers ofSolidago (Table 1). Hentz (1830) noted the modification of their maxillae that facilitates feeding on floral nectar, a subject further discussed by Walsh (1868a). Adults often are covered with pollen of the various flowers they visit (Glover 1856, personal observation), perhaps leading to early reports of their feeding on pollen (Glover 1856, 1869). Such early reports have been passed forward through time in the literature (Riley 1872, 1873, 1880, 1885; Comstock 1879; Dimmock 1884; Lintner 1888; Graenicher 1909; Vestal 1913; Adams 1915; Lutz 1941; Dillon and Dillon 1961; Miskimen 1966; Brown and Brown 1984; Ramsdale 2002), but feeding on pollen warrants confirmation. 1Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706. Published by ValpoScholar, 2006 1 https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol39/iss2/9 2006 Table 1. Plants bearing flowers visited by adults ofChauliognathus pensylvanicus. Citations are provided for previous reports. Original data (presented without citation) comprise 183 species in 29 families growing outside cultivation in Wisconsin. Plant nomenclature gener- ally follows Kartesz (1994). FAMILY SPECIES AUTHORS’ COMMENTS CITATION Acanthaceae Ruellia humilis The GreatLakesEntomologist,Vol.39,No.2[2006],Art.9 Agavaceae Yucca sp. fed upon the pollen Riley (1873) Alismataceae Sagittaria latifolia 4 beetles Robertson (1928) Apiaceae Cicuta maculata THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST LAKES THE GREAT Conium maculatum Daucus carota 15 beetles Judd (1970) Daucus carota 1188 beetles McCauley and Wade (1978) Daucus carota common Lago and Mann (1987) Daucus carota Dunn (1996) Daucus carota Eryngium yuccifolium Adams (1915) Eryngium yuccifolium Oxypolis rigidior Robertson (1928) Oxypolis rigidior Pastinaca sativa Pimpinella saxifraga Sium suave Robertson (1928) Sium suave Apocynaceae Apocynum androsaemifolium Apocynum cannabinum Asclepiadaceae Asclepias hirtella Asclepias incarnata great numbers Adams (1915) Robertson (1928) Asclepias incarnata abundant, pollinia on tarsi Asclepias incarnata Asclepias syriaca Asclepias tuberosa 201 Asclepias verticillata 2 Published byValpoScholar, 2006 202 Table 1. Continued. FAMILY SPECIES AUTHORS’ COMMENTS CITATION Williams: AFriendUnmasked:Noteson<i>ChauliognathusPensylvanicus</i>( Asteraceae Achillea millefolium Achillea sp. Balduf (1935) Ageratina altissima Ambrosia psilostachya Anaphalis margaritacea Arctium sp. THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST LAKES THE GREAT Arnoglossum atriplicifolium Aster cordifolius Aster ericoides frequent Robertson (1928) Aster ericoides Aster lanceolatus 10 beetles Robertson (1928) Aster lanceolatus Aster lateriflorus Aster novae-angliae Aster oolentangiensis Aster pilosus Aster sericeus Aster shortii Aster turbinellus 1 beetle Robertson (1928) Aster umbellatus Aster urophyllus 2 beetles Robertson (1928) Bidens aristosa abundant, in copula Robertson (1928) Bidens cernua 3&4 Nos. 39, Vol. Bidens coronata Bidens laevis abundant Robertson (1928) Bidens sp. McLain (1984, 1986) Boltonia asteroides frequent Robertson (1928) Brickellia eupatorioides Maw (1976) Carduus acanthoides Carduus acanthoides 3 https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol39/iss2/9 2006 Table 1. Continued. FAMILY SPECIES AUTHORS’ COMMENTS CITATION Centaurea biebersteinii Cichorium intybus Cirsium altissimum Johnson (1996) The GreatLakesEntomologist,Vol.39,No.2[2006],Art.9 Cirsium altissimum Cirsium arvense Maw (1976) Cirsium arvense THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST LAKES THE GREAT Cirsium discolor Cirsium muticum Cirsium vulgare feeding on pollen Graenicher (1909) Cirsium vulgare composites several hundred beetles Wheeler (1988) Conyza canadensis McLain (1984) Conyza canadensis Coreopsis lanceolata Coreopsis palmata 1 beetle Robertson (1928) Coreopsis tripteris Coreopsis tripteris Crepis tectorum Echinacea purpurea Echinops sphaerocephalus Erechtites hieraciifolia Erigeron annuus Erigeron philadelphicus Erigeron strigosus Eupatorium altissimum Eupatorium coelestinum 1 beetle Robertson (1928) Eupatorium fistulosum 1 dead, due to fungus Wheeler (1988) Eupatorium maculatum Eupatorium perfoliatum Robertson (1928) 203 Judd (1969) Eupatorium perfoliatum 1 beetle 4 Published byValpoScholar, 2006 204 Table 1. Continued. FAMILY SPECIES AUTHORS’ COMMENTS CITATION Williams: AFriendUnmasked:Noteson<i>ChauliognathusPensylvanicus</i>( Eupatorium perfoliatum Eupatorium purpureum Eupatorium serotinum Robertson (1928) Eupatorium serotinum Eupatorium sessilifolium Eupatorium sp. many dead, due to fungus Popenoe and Smyth (1911) THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST LAKES THE GREAT Eupatorium sp. McLain (1984, 1986) Eupatorium sp. 1000 pairs McLain (1988) Euthamia graminifolia abundant Robertson (1928) Euthamia graminifolia Brown and Brown (1984) Euthamia graminifolia large numbers Wheeler (1988) Euthamia graminifolia Gnaphalium obtusifolium 5 beetles Robertson (1928) Gnaphalium obtusifolium Grindelia squarrosa abundant Robertson (1928) Helenium autumnale Helenium autumnale Helenium sp. 1000 pairs McLain (1988) Helianthus annuus 2 beetles Robertson (1928) Helianthus annuus Whelan (1936) Helianthus annuus Helianthus divaricatus frequent Robertson (1928) Helianthus giganteus 3&4 Nos. 39, Vol. Helianthus grosseserratus Robertson (1928) Helianthus grosseserratus Robertson (1928) Helianthus x laetiflorus Helianthus x laetiflorus Helianthus maximiliani Helianthus mollis Helianthus occidentalis 5 https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol39/iss2/9 2006 Table 1. Continued. FAMILY SPECIES AUTHORS’ COMMENTS CITATION Helianthus sp. Bailey et al. (1984) Helianthus sp. (divaricatus or strumosus or both) Helianthus strumosus Balduf (1935) The GreatLakesEntomologist,Vol.39,No.2[2006],Art.9 Helianthus tuberosus Robertson (1928) Helianthus tuberosus Heliopsis helianthoides Robertson (1928) THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST LAKES THE GREAT Heliopsis helianthoides Heterotheca subaxillaris McLain (1984) Heterotheca villosa Hieracium aurantiacum Hieracium kalmii Ionactis linariifolius Lactuca biennis frequent Robertson (1928) Lactuca florida Leucanthemum vulgare Liatris aspera Liatris ligulistylis Liatris pycnostachya Liatris spicata feeding on pollen Graenicher (1909) Liatris spicata Mikania scandens McLain (1982, 1984, 1986) Polymnia canadensis Prenanthes alba Prenanthes aspera Prenanthes crepidinea frequent Robertson (1928) Ratibida columnifera Graenicher (1909) Ratibida pinnata feeding on pollen Ratibida pinnata 205 Rudbeckia hirta Rudbeckia laciniata 6 Published byValpoScholar, 2006 206 Table 1. Continued. FAMILY SPECIES AUTHORS’ COMMENTS CITATION Williams: AFriendUnmasked:Noteson<i>ChauliognathusPensylvanicus</i>( Rudbeckia subtomentosa 2 beetles Robertson (1928) Rudbeckia