Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science, Vol. 97 (2018) 67 NEW OCCURRENCES OF BYRRHIDAE (COLEOPTERA) AND BRYOPHAGY IN THE BLACK HILLS ECOSYSTEM, SOUTH DAKOTA AND WYOMING Paul J. Johnson Insect Biodiversity Lab South Dakota State University Brookings, South Dakota 57007 Author email: [email protected] ABSTRACT Bryophagous, or moss and liverwort feeding, insects in the Black Hills ecosys- tem are poorly documented. Here six species, Byrrhus kirbyi LeConte, Curimopsis echinata (LeConte), Cytilus alternatus (Say), Morychus aeneolus (LeConte), M. oblongus (LeConte), and Porcinolus undatus (Melsheimer) (Coleoptera: Byrrhidae) are recorded from the Black Hills ecosystem, including both the Black Hills and the Bear Lodge Mountains. Byrrhus kirbyi Curimopsis echinata, M. aeneolus, M. oblon- gus, and P. undatus are reported from South Dakota for the first time. Curimopsis echinata and Porcinolus undatus are reported from Wyoming for the first time. Each species is an obligate bryophage and all are associated with bryophyte communities on seral sites usually dominated by Ceratodon purpureus (Hedw.) Brid. or a Bryum sp., which are the preferred host mosses for these beetle species. Keywords Moss beetle, pill beetle, new state record, range extension, Ceratodon purpureus, Polytrichum juniperinum INTRODUCTION Bryophagous insects in the Black Hills ecosystem are poorly documented and are represented by one species of snow scorpionfly (Mecoptera: Boreidae), reported elsewhere (Johnson 2018), and six species of moss beetles (Coleoptera: Byrrhidae), as reported here. The Black Hills ecosystem, or ecoregion (Hall et al. 2002), is physiographically comprised of the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming, and the Bear Lodge Mountains of Wyoming. A variety of outlying ridges, buttes, and riverine features provide geological, ecological, and geographic extensions of the Black Hills toward all directions. This ecosystem is part of the Middle Rockies Ecoregion (e.g., Chapman et al. 2004; Omernik 1987). Potential moss beetle habitats indicated by montane cool and mesic conditions domi- nated by suspected host mosses were sampled throughout the region (Figure 1). 68 Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science, Vol. 97 (2018) Six species of moss beetle were discovered at Black Hills and Bear Lodge sites, most of which are unpublished records for South Dakota and Wyoming. The moss beetles for North America were summarized by Johnson (1991, 2002). In South Dakota, the only family representative previously reported was Cytilus alternatus (Say) (Kirk and Balsbaugh 1975). In Wyoming, no moss beetles were recorded from the Black Hills or the Bear Lodge Mountains, though several species are known from montane habitats in Wyoming from the Snowy Mountains in the south-central, to Yellowstone National Park in the northwest, and the Big Horn Mountains in the north-central areas of the state. This report records the occurrence of six species of the family Byrrhidae from South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming. Five of these species are newly reported for South Dakota, and two species are newly reported for Wyoming. Figure 1. Byrrhidae sites sampled and locations of occurrences of two or more species each in the Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains and cited in the text. Modified from GoogleEarth™. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science, Vol. 97 (2018) 69 METHODS Specimens of Byrrhidae reported here are based largely on material collected from 1997 through 2018. Additional specimens of C. alternatus collected subse- quent to Kirk and Balsbaugh (1975) were collected in this survey or studied in the Severin-McDaniel Insect Research Collection. All specimens were collected by pitfall trap and hand collecting at various sites in the northern Black Hills and the Bear Lodge Mountains. Identifications are based on comparisons with homo- typic specimens compared with holotypes or lectotypes during prior studies (e.g., Johnson 1991, 2002). Moss names and classification are from FNA (2018) and the USDA/NRCS (2018). Ecoregion associations are based on maps by Bryce et al. (1996), Omernik (1987), Chapman et al. (2004), and Omernik and Griffith (2014). Forest habitat types as defined by Hoffman and Alexander (1987) were determined by on-site assessment. All species reported are vouchered at the Severin-McDaniel Insect Research Collection at South Dakota State University. Duplicates will be distributed to the U.S. National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., and the University of Wyoming Insect Museum, Laramie, Wyoming. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Byrrhus kirbyi LeConte. (Figure 2). El Moursy (1970) provided the most recent taxonomic review of Byrrhus Linnaeus for North America, and Johnson (1991) provided a revised key to species. El Moursy treated seven species and mapped their distributions, but none were indicated as occurring in South Dakota. Johnson (1991) added B. pilula L. to the continental faunal list, but all specimens seen were from northern Canada localities. Byrrhus kirbyi is among the more common and widespread species in the western mountains of North America and is transcontinental in Canada and the northern United States, being recorded from Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Labrador, Newfoundland, New Hampshire, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado and New Mexico. Specimens from the Black Hills ecoregion were collected at SOUTH DAKOTA, Lawrence Co., 44.3178°N, -103.9137°W, 1550 m, 4.8 air mi. SW of Spearfish, 23.v-19.vi.1997, P.J. Johnson, coll. (1, SDSU); Lawrence Co., 44.3141°N, -104.0080°W, Little Spearfish Creek 1782 m, 23.v-19.vi.1997, P.J. Johnson coll. (2, SDSU); WYOMING, Crook Co., near the summit of Warren Peaks, 44.476234°W, -104.443964°W, 2030 m, P.J. Johnson (1, SDSU); Cement Ridge, 44.354433°N, -104.076074°N, 2020 m, P.J. Johnson (1, SDSU). Though this species is known from elsewhere in Wyoming, this is the first report of it from the Black Hills ecosystem. Specimens from the northern Black Hills provide a new state record for South Dakota. 70 Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science, Vol. 97 (2018) Byrrhus americanus. LeConte is a second species of the genus from South Dakota, but is known only from Sica Hollow State Park, Roberts County, in the northeastern region. Figure 2. Byrrhidae of the Black Hills region. Left, Byrrhus kirbyi LeConte, length 7.6 mm. Right, Curimopsis echinata (LeConte), length 2.9 mm. Curimopsis echinata (LeConte). (Figure 2). Johnson (1986, 1991) sum- marized the North American representatives of this genus and recognized five species. Curimopsis echinata was broadly indicated as occurring in “boreal forest and montane, northern United States and Canada,” being reported from Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Alberta, British Columbia, and Alaska, south through Idaho, Washington, Michigan, and New Mexico. Specimens from the northern Black Hills and Bear Lodge Mountains provide new state records for both South Dakota and Wyoming. SOUTH DAKOTA, Lawrence Co., 44.3178°N, -103.9137°W, 1550 m, 4.8 air mi. SW of Spearfish, 23.v-19.vi.1997, P.J. Johnson, coll. (20, SDSU); 44.3141N, -104.0080°W, Little Spearfish Creek 1782 m, 23.v-19.vi.1997, P.J. Johnson coll.; WYOMING, Crook Co., Fawn Creek road, 44.6312°N, -104.3772°W, 5.4 air mi. SE of Alva, 22.v-19.vi.1997; 1397m, P.J. Johnson coll. (1, SDSU). Sikes (1994) listed the species for Wyoming from Yellowstone National Park. Cytilus alternatus (Say). (Figure 3). Johnson (1991) summarized the North American representatives of this genus and recognized two species. Cytilus alternatus is a transcontinental species and probably the most widespread and frequently collected moss beetle that is recorded from much of Canada, and the northern and western United States, from Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Yukon and Alaska, then south through Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and North Dakota. Cytilus alternatus was reported from the northern Black Hills, South Dakota, by Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science, Vol. 97 (2018) 71 Kirk and Balsbaugh (1975). This species is also known from northeastern South Dakota at Sica Hollow State Park, Roberts County. Specimens from the Black Hills ecoregions were more recently recovered from SOUTH DAKOTA, Lawrence Co., 44.3178°N, -103.9137°W, 1550 m, 4.8 air mi. SW of Spearfish, 23.v-19.vi.1997, P.J. Johnson, coll. (6, SDSU); Lawrence Co., 44.3141°N, -104.0080°W, Little Spearfish Creek 1782 m, 23.v-19.vi.1997, P.J. Johnson coll. (21, SDSU); WYOMING, Crook Co., Fawn Creek road, 44.6312°N, -104.3772°W, 5.4 air mi. SE of Alva, 22.v-19.vi.1997; 1397 m, P.J. Johnson coll. (2, SDSU); Warren Peaks, 44.476234°W, -104.443964°W, 2030 m, P.J. Johnson (1, SDSU). Morychus aeneolus (LeConte). (Figure 3). Johnson (1991, 2002) provided nomenclatural and classification information that has not since changed. This species is recorded from Canada and the United States, specifically from Alaska, Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, south to Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Records from South Dakota provide a new state record. Specimens from the Black Hills ecoregions were collected from: SOUTH DAKOTA, Lawrence Co., 44.3178°N, -103.9137°W, 1550 m, 4.8 air mi. SW of Spearfish, 23.v-19.vi.1997, P.J. Johnson, coll. (295, SDSU); WYOMING, Crook Co., Fawn Creek road, 44.6312°N, -104.3772°W, 5.4 air mi. SE of Alva, 22.v-19. vi.1997; 1397 m, P.J. Johnson coll. (68, SDSU). Morychus aeneolus is likely the Nearctic sister species to the Palaearctic M. aeneus L. Morphological separation of these species in far eastern Siberia and Alaska is difficult, and in this region they may be considered conspecific.