University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Insecta Mundi Florida September 2001 Small carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae) from burrows of Geomys and Thomomys pocket gophers (Rodentia: Geomyidae) in the United States Stewart B. Peck Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada Paul E. Skelley Florida State Collection of Arthropods, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Gainesville, FL Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi Part of the Entomology Commons Peck, Stewart B. and Skelley, Paul E., "Small carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae) from burrows of Geomys and Thomomys pocket gophers (Rodentia: Geomyidae) in the United States" (2001). Insecta Mundi. 195. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/insectamundi/195 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Center for Systematic Entomology, Gainesville, Florida at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Insecta Mundi by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 15, No. 3, September, 2001 139 Small carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Leiodidae: Cholevinae) from burrows of Geomys and Thomomys pocket gophers (Rodentia: Geomyidae) in the United States Stewart B. Peck Department of Biology Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada Paul E. Skelley Florida State Collection of Arthropods Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services P. 0. Box 147100 Gainesville, FL 32614-7100 USA Abstract. The cholevine beetles inhabiting burrows of Geomys and Thomomys pocket gophers (Rodentia: Geomyidae) are reviewed. Catops geomysi n. sp. and Ptomaphagus geomysi n. sp. are described. Both of these species and Ptomaphagus schwarzi Hatch appear to be regular and obligate inhabitants of Geomys burrows but are not host specific. Nemadus hornii Hatch, Sciodrepoides ruatsoni hornianus (Blanchard), Catops simplex Say, Ptomaphagus cavernicola Schwarz, Ptomaphagus consobriizus (LeConte), Ptomaphagus fisus Horn, and Ptomaphagus texanus Horn were less frequently collected and are probably facultative inhabitants of Geomys burrows, as well as nests or dens of other small mammals. Ptomaphagus nevadicus Horn is an inhabitant of burrows of Thomomys pocket gophers in western North America. A key to the species of Ptomaphagus in the southeastern Gulf Coastal Plain, from non-cave habitats, is provided to aid in their identification. Introduction Pioneering investigations of insects inhabiting Geomys burrows were conducted in Florida by Cholevine leiodids, the small carrion beetles, Hubbell and Goff (1939). They reported on a diverse are frequently found in association with and feed- and sometimes extraordinary set of insect inhabit- ing on moist decaying organic matter. In North ants (sometimes eyeless) from the burrows of Geomys America, these beetles are common components of pinetis (Rafinesque) (Hubbell 1940). Subsequently, leaf litter and soil habitats in mesophytic forests, Ross (1944) reported on other collections from the and some species have become small-eyed and burrows of pocket gophers in Texas. Few subse- flightless in deep litter or soil. Nineteen species are quent studies have explored the insect inhabitants blind obligate inhabitants of caves (Peck 1984, of the burrow systems of these unusual rodents. 1998a, 1998b). Other distinctive but cave-like hab- Intensive sampling in Alachua and Levy Counties, itats which are inhabited by North American Florida, during 1988-1990 by PES and others re- cholevines are the subterranean nests of Vespula vealed that cholevine leiodids and many other wasps and Pogonomyrmex and Aphaenogaster har- arthropods inhabiting Geomys pocket gopher bur- vester ants (Peck and Gnaspini 1997), the burrows rows were mainly active during the winter months. of Gopherus gopher tortoises and Speotyto burrow- Some results are in Skelley and Kovarik (2001) and ing owls, the nests of Neotoma pack rats, and the Skelley and Woodruff (1991). nests and burrows of mice, shrews, moles, Di- The genus Geomys is in the rodent family podomys kangaroo rats, Citellus ground squirrels, Geomyidae, which is endemic to North and Central Marmota marmots, Cynomys prairie dogs, and America. There are three genera in this family in Geomys and Thomomys pocket gophers (Peck 1973). the USA: Geornys, with seven species in the central The beetles probably feed as scavengers on decom- and eastern USA; Thomomys, with five species in posing nest matter or micro-organisms on feces in the western USA and Canada; Papogeomys (Crato- the nests and burrows of all these animals. geomys), with one species in the southwestern Great Plains of the USA. There are 13other species 140 Volume 15, No. 3, September, 2001, INSECTA MUNDI in these genera and additional genera in Mexico also be at considerable depth (Hubbell and Goff and Central America (Hall 1981). 1939). In the southeast these chambers have been Cholevine beetles previously reported from found up to 3.5 meters deep (personal experience pocket gopher burrows (Peck 1973, 1977) are: PES), but are usually only 1 to 2 meters deep. Ptomaphagus schwarzi Hatch in Florida; P. ne- Since total excavation of a burrow is time con- vadicus Horn in California, Texas, Kansas, North suming, exhausting and frequently non-produc- Dakota, British Columbia, and Durango, Mexico; tive, we chose to sample the arthropods by remov- P. conejera Peck from Oaxaca, Mexico; and P. tuza ing the rodent occupant and setting baited or un- Peck from Oaxaca, Mexico. Recent field work by P. baited pitfall traps in the burrows. This method is Kovarik in Belize and W. Godwin in Panama has mentioned in Hubbell and Goff (1939) and Skelley yielded undescribed species of Ptomaphagus in the and Woodruff (1991). By using this method, many burrows of pocket gophers in those countries. This sites could be sampled with a small amount of effort paper reports on new records and new species of and with the least amount of habitat destruction. cholevine beetles found in the burrows of Geomys With the help of those listed in the acknowledge- and Thomomys pocket gophers, mostly from the ments, nearly 200 burrow systems have been Sam- southeastern United States. pled across the range of the southeastern pocket gopher using this method. Early sampling showed that the arthropod fau- Methods and Materials na of a burrow is primarily active in the winter months. While some members of this fauna are An extensive sampling program for the arthro- active year round, all species could be collected in pods in the burrow systems of the southeastern the winter. Our sampling focused on the winter pocket gopher, Geomys pinetus (Rafinesque), was season and was primarily from late November undertaken by P. W. Kovarik, P. E. Skelley, and R. through April over several years. H. Turnbow. This pocket gopher is found in the This paper presents an account of the cholevine southern halves of Georgia and Alabama, and the Leiodidae collected during this survey. Other pa- northern half of Florida (Hall 1981, Fig.15). Liter- pers are currently being prepared to cover other ature and museum specimen records for specific components of the arthropod fauna in the burrows localities with pocket gopher populations were com- (e.g., Skelley and Gordon 2001). To contribute to piled into a database. Sightings of pocket gopher the completeness of this paper, we report other new mounds by qualified individuals were also includ- data on cholevines collected in association with ed. Locality data based on sightings were added pocket gophers in other parts of the USA. only when there was no doubt that the mound was Specimens examined are from the collections made by a pocket gopher. All of these data were of: ABSC, Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, used to produce a detailed distribution map for the FL; KSC; Karl Stephan, Red Oak, Oklahoma; pocket gopher (to be published elsewhere). With FMNH, Field Museum of Natural History, Chica- this information, a sampling plan was implement- go, IL; LSAC, Louisiana State Arthropod Collec- ed to obtain arthropods from the burrow systems tion, Baton Rouge, LA; MUIC, Mississippi State from across the range of the pocket gopher. In some University Insect Collection, Mississippi State, MS; cases this was hindered by apparent local extinc- RHTC, Robert H. Turnbow Collection, Ft. Rucker, tions or uncooperative land owners. AL; SBPC, Stewart B. Peck collection, Ottawa, ON; Collecting in the burrow systems of pocket TAMU, Texas A & M University Insect Collection, gophers can be quite laborious. If a collector digs College Station, TX; WWC, William Warner collec- along the burrow system, the pocket gophers will tion, Phoenix, AZ. If no collection acronym is given, often plug the burrow ahead of the collector. Be- specimens are deposited in the FSCA, Florida State cause of this, it is usually necessary to remove the CollectionofArthropods, Gainesville, FL. Paratypes inhabitant from the burrow. There is usually only or voucher specimens will also be placed in: MCZC, one animal in a burrow system. The prime goal of Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard Univer- excavating the burrow system is to find the nest sity, Cambridge, MA; CMNC, Canadian Museum of chamber and the toilet chamber with its dung Nature, Aylmer, Quebec, Canada; GMNH, Georgia pellets. Finding these chambers is not easy because Museum of Natural History, University of Georgia, the burrow systems may be as long as 165 meters Athens, GA; and OSUC, The Ohio State University (Brown and Hickman 1973). Such chambers may Insect Collection, Columbus, OH. INSECTA MUNDI, Vol. 15, No. 3, September, 2001 14 1 Keys to the genera of United States Cholevinae captured in entrances to fox burrows (Peclr; un- may be found in Peck (1990). All species discussed publ.). here, except for the new species, can be keyed using New Geomys burrow records. ILLINOIS. Hatch (1933) or Peck (1973). A revision of the Kankakee Co.; Hopkins Park, with "Geomys illi- species of North American Cholevini by Peck is in noisensis" (FMNH). McLean Co.; 1 mi E.