New species, new synonymy, taxonomic notes and new records of bark and ambrosia beetles from the southwestern United States and northern Mexico (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Platypodinae and Scolytinae)
Author
Atkinson, Thomas H.
text
Zootaxa
2024
2024-03-13
5424
2
151
175
http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5424.2.1
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.5424.2.1
1175-5326
10821033
A7F58813-74B7-4871-B562-52999092C283
Phloeotribus scabricollis
(
Hopkins, 1916
)
Fig. 2E
Phloeophthorus scabricollis
Hopkins, 1916: 656
Phthorophloeus scabricollis
(Hopkins)
: Chamberlin 1939: 141
Phloeotribus scabricollis
(
Hopkins, 1916
)
:
Wood 1982: 274
Phloeotribus pseudoscabricollis
Atkinson, 1989: 329
new synonymy
This species was described from
Indiana
by
Hopkins (1916)
. Subsequent collections have all been from the Great Lakes region of the
U.S.
and
Canada
(
Deyrup 1981
;
Wood 1982
;
Cognato
et al.
2009
;
Douglas
et al
. 2013
). This species breeds in
Ptelea trifoliata
(
Rutaceae
).
Staphylea trifolia
(
Staphyleaceae
), a completely unrelated plant, has been listed as a host (
e.g.,
Wood 1982
) but so far as I have been able to determine this is a mistake due to the similarity in spelling of the two names and the broad geographical overlap of the plants. I have seen no specimens labelled with this host, and have only seen it in secondary references.
Phloeotribus pseudoscabricollis
was described from
four specimens
in two series from southern
Texas
without host information. Some differences from
P. scabricollis
were noted in the original description, but a primary consideration was the distance between southern
Texas
and the closest reported localities (~
1,600 km
) of
P. scabricollis
and the major ecological differences in the plant communities where collected. In 2008 large numbers were collected emerging from cut branches of
Zanthoxylum fagara
(
Rutaceae
) by E.G. Riley from southeastern
Texas
. This prompted me to look in populations of
Ptelea trifoliata
in central
Texas
, where large numbers were also collected.
Closer comparison of all material, including both
holotypes
, shows that only a single species is represented. All known localities and the host ranges of
Ptelea trifoliata
and
Zanthoxylum fagara
are shown in
Fig. 2 E
.
Ptelea trifoliata
is widely distributed in eastern North America from Southern
Canada
to Florida and to southern
Mexico
, with significant disjunct populations in
Arizona
and
New Mexico
. The host is a small tree with no known economic importance. Species of
Zanthoxylum
are widely distributed in the southern
U.S.
and in subtropical and tropical forests in
Mexico
. Like most phloem-feeding bark beetles,
P. scabricollis
is apparently not attracted to traps baited with ethanol and has not been encountered in trapping surveys (
Rabaglia
et al
. 2019
). The lack of records from intervening areas is most likely due to the lack of directed collecting efforts.
New Records
:
United States
:
Texas
: Cameron Co., Sabal Palm Grove,
25.8498 N
,
97.4185 W
,
31-X-2008
, E.G. Riley, reared from branch of
Zanthoxylum fagara
* (TAMU, 100); Travis Co., Austin, Guerrero Park,
30.2428 N
,
97.6952 W
,
18-II-2012
,
Ptelea trifoliata
, T.H. Atkinson
(UTIC, 7); Austin,
30.2494 N
,
97.6998 W
,
1-V-2018
,
Ptelea trifoliata
, T.H. Atkinson
(UTIC, 14).