INSECTA MUNDI A Journal of World Insect Systematics 0181 Peaceful giant ground beetles: The genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Republic of South Africa Jonathan R. Mawdsley Department of Entomology, MRC 187 National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution P. O. Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 USA Hendrik Sithole Invertebrates, Kruger National Park Private Bag X402 Skukuza 1350 SOUTH AFRICA Alice S. Mawdsley Cleveland State University 2121 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44114 USA Date of Issue: May 6, 2011 CENTER FOR SYSTEMATIC ENTOMOLOGY, INC., Gainesville, FL Jonathan R. Mawdsley, Hendrik Sithole, and Alice S. Mawdsley Peaceful giant ground beetles: The genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Republic of South Africa Insecta Mundi 0181: 1-7 Published in 2011 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P. O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 U. S. 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This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, dis- tribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. http:/ /creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ 0181: 1-7 2011 Peaceful giant ground beetles: The genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Republic of South Africa Jonathan R. Mawdsley Department of Entomology, MRC 187 National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution P. O. Box 37012 Washington, DC 20013-7012 USA [email protected] Hendrik Sithole Invertebrates, Kruger National Park Private Bag X402 Skukuza 1350 SOUTH AFRICA Alice S. Mawdsley Cleveland State University 2121 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44114 USA Abstract. Two species of the genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae), commonly known as “peaceful giant ground beetles,” are recorded from the Republic of South Africa: T. carinatus carinatus Klug and T. meyerlei delagorguei Guérin-Méneville. Distribution records from the Republic of South Africa are summarized and mapped for both species. Tefflus c. carinatus has been collected in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga Provinces, while T. m. delagorguei has been recorded from Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga Provinces. Adults of both species are illustrated. Seasonal and temporal activity patterns and defensive and foraging behaviors are characterized for T. m. delagorguei based on recent field studies in the Kruger National Park, Republic of South Africa. Introduction The genus Tefflus Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) contains 14 species widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa (Basilewsky 1946). Members of this genus can be recognized by their large body size (24-55 mm in length) and their distinctive body form (Figure 1). In South Africa, these beetles are known by the popular name of “peaceful giant ground beetles” (Picker et al. 2004) to distinguish them from the “oogpisters” of the tribe Anthiini (Carabidae), which spray highly concentrated acidic secretions from their pygidial glands when disturbed (Scott et al. 1975; Huey and Pianka 1977). Species of the genus Tefflus are predators of land snails, particularly the giant land snails in the genus Achatina Lamarck (Gastropoda: Achatinidae; Figure 2). These snails have the potential to become agricultural pests when introduced into areas outside their natural distribution (Barker 2002), and spe- cies of Tefflus have been considered as possible biological controls of Achatina species (Krauss 1955, 1964). According to Davis and Butler (1964), four species of Tefflus have been introduced to Hawaii as potential biological control agents of the introduced giant land snail Achatina fulica Bowdich. As with other genera of flightless Carabidae, the taxonomy of Tefflus has been problematic, and the genus has been revised in whole or in part several times (Chaudoir 1878; Kolbe 1886, 1904; Sternberg 1908, 1909, 1910). The most recent revision is that of Basilewsky (1946) who incorporated studies of male reproductive structures as well as a comprehensive study of external anatomy and geographic distribu- tion. Questions remain, however, about the number and identity of the species of Tefflus found in south- ern Africa. Péringuey (1896) did not record any species of this genus from the present-day Republic of South Africa in his monumental revision of southern African Carabidae. Basilewsky (1946) provided several records from the present-day Republic of South Africa for one species and a questionable record for a second. Picker et al. (2004) illustrated a live adult and a live larva of one species in a field guide to South 1 2 • I NSECTA M UNDI 0181, May 2011 MAWDSLEY ET AL. African insects but only identified these individu- als to genus. In this paper, we present new infor- mation about the natural history and distribution of the species of Tefflus known from the Republic of South Africa. This paper also forms part of a series investi- gating the taxonomy and natural history of south- ern African Carabidae (including Cicindelinae), with focus on the fauna of the Kruger National Park. Kruger National Park is the largest con- servation area in the Republic of South Africa and home to significant populations of many large-bod- ied mammalian taxa, including African elephant (Loxodonta africana (Blumenbach)), white rhinoc- Figure 1. Adult female of Tefflus meyerlei delagorguei, eros (Ceratotherium simum (Burchell)), black rhi- N’waswitshaka Research Camp, Kruger National Park. noceros (Diceros bicornis (L.)), hippopotamus (Hip- popotamus amphibius L.), Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer (Sparrman)), lion (Panthera leo (L.)), leop- ard (Panthera pardus (L.)), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber)), and numerous antelope spe- cies (Du Toit et al. 2003). In contrast, the carabid beetle fauna of the Park is poorly known, although components of the Park’s fauna have been treated in monographs by Basilewsky (1977) and Cassola (2002). Our recent contributions towards the knowledge of this fauna include Mawdsley and Sithole (2008, 2009) and Mawdsley (2009). Materials and Methods Figure 2. Adult Achatina land snail, Skukuza, Kruger Specimens examined are deposited in the fol- National Park. lowing collections: KNPC - Kruger National Park Museum Collection, Skukuza, Republic of South Africa; NMNH - National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., USA; TMSA - Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, Republic of South Africa. Field investigations of the natural history of T. m. delagorguei were conducted in the Kruger Na- tional Park, Mpumalanga Province, Republic of South Africa, between 7 December and 20 December, 2009, and between 28 November and 16 December, 2010. Our investigations focused on the areas sur- rounding the Skukuza, Pretoriuskop, and Satara tourist camps, where many of the museum specimens