Beetles (Coleoptera) new to Suffolk

BEETLES (COLEOPTERA) NEW TO SUFFOLK HOWARD MENDEL

In 1982 n o less t h a n f o u r species of beetles, recently discovered in Suffolk, w e r e formally a d d e d to t h e British List. T h e s e and o t h e r notable records, e i t h e r previously n o t recognised in these T r a n s a c t i o n s or previously u n p u b lished, are listed below. All species listed should be r e g a r d e d as N e w to Suffolk and i n d e x e d accordingly.

T h e o r d e r a n d n o m e n c l a t u r e follow Kloet and Hincks (1977) except that t h o s e species recently described new to Britain have b e e n inserted. All r e c o r d s have b e e n placed in their vice-county ( D a n d y , 1969)—East Suffolk (v.-c. 25) or W e s t S u f f o l k (v.-c. 2 6 ) — a n d O r d n a n c e Survey grid r e f e r e n c e s in Square b r a c k e t s have b e e n assigned by t h e a u t h o r .

CARABIDAE Cymindis macularis (Fischer v. W a l d h e i m ) A d d e d to t h e British List by H a m m o n d (1982) on t h e strength of a Single h e a d capsule f o u n d in t h e pellet of a stone curlew, collected in 1980 in the Icklingham a r e a [ T L 77] of W e s t Suffolk. Several c o m p l e t e specimens collected by m o r e c o n v e n t i o n a l m e a n s have since c o m e to light ( M r . P. M .

H a m m o n d , in litt.) establishing t h e p r e s e n c e of C. macularis in Suffolk and Britain.

LEPTINDAE Leptiniis testaceus Müller A p p a r e n t l y r a r e , t h o u g h p r o b a b l y u n d e r - r e c o r d e d b e c a u s e of its close association with t h e nests of 'mice' and h u m b l e - b e e s . A Single e x a m p l e was sieved f r o m t h e nest of a ' m o u s e ' , f o u n d u n d e r a log in Assington T h i c k s ( T L 9237), W e s t S u f f o l k , on 24th M a r c h 1 9 7 9 — H . M .

SCARABAEIDAE Aphodius zenkeri G e r m a r First r e c o r d e d f r o m Suffolk by W e l c h (1977) w h o collected a Single specimen f r o m fallow d e e r d u n g on S u t t o n C o m m o n [ T M 34], E a s t Suffolk on 22nd July 1976. A f u r t h e r six s p e c i m e n s were f o u n d in d e e r d u n g at S t a v e r t o n Park ( T M 3550), B u t l e y , E a s t S u f f o l k on 18th A u g u s t 1 9 7 8 — H . M .

THROSCIDAE Trixagus brevicollis (de B o n v o u l o i r ) O n l y previously k n o w n in Britain f r o m t h r e e d e e r p a r k s ; Moccas P a r k , H e r e f o r d s h i r e , S h u t e P a r k , D e v o n and W i n d s o r P a r k , B e r k s h i r e (Allen, 1966). T w o m a l e s of this species w e r e b e a t e n f r o m G r e y P o p l a r , Populus canescens ( A i t . ) Sm. on t h e Icklingham Plains ( T L 7573), West Suffolk on 14th J u n e a n d 26th July 1981 r e s p e c t i v e l y — H . M .

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DERODONTIDAE Laricobius erichsoni Rosenhauer Added to the British List by Hammond and Barham (1982) and originally taken by Mr. C. S. Barham at Boyton (TM 3647), East Suffolk, on 15th May 1971. The species was later taken by Mr. D. R. Nash at two sites on the Shrubland Estate, Coddenham (TM 1153 and TM 1154), East Suffolk on 27th May 1980, and the following year by the author again in East Suffolk, in Bridge Wood, Ipswich (TM 1840) on 12th May and Rendlesham Forest (TM 3451) on 15th May. ANOBIIDAE Hemicoelus nitidus (Hbst.)

A Single male of this species previously not known from Britain, was beaten from Grey Poplar, Populus canescens (Ait.) Sm. on the Icklingham Plains (TL 7573), West Suffolk on 27th July 1980 (Mendel, 1982a).

PTINIDAE Ptinus dubius Sturm Ptinus pusillus Sturm P. dubius was added to the British List by Hodge and Parry (1982), who beat the insect from Scots Pine, Pinus sylvestris L. in a plantation at Mildenhall Warren (TL 7475), West Suffolk on 9th June 1979. Further specimens were taken by the author and others, and Mr. D. R. Nash took a male and a female from widely separate pines on the Icklingham Plains (TL 77), West Suffolk on 29th October 1982.

Though only recently discovered, P. dubius is no newcomer to the British fauna. A Single specimen in the Morley Collection at the Ipswich Museum, identified by Morley as pusillus should be referred to this species. It was collected by Morley from pine on Lingheath [TL 78] in the Brandon area of West Suffolk, on 19th May 1936 (Morley, 1936). P. pusillus should not however be removed from the Suffolk List, having been recorded from Little Blakenham (TM 110494), East Suffolk on lOth October 1973 (Nash, 1981a).

CUCUJIDAE Cryptolestes pusillus (Schoenherr) Cryptolestes turcicus (Grouvelle) Nash (1981b) was quite right to question Morley's record of Laemophloeus minutus Ol. ( = C. pusillus) from a 'coffee-tin of old pollard . . . from Argentina' (Morley, 1940). The three specimens in question, still extant in the Morley Collection at the Ipswich Museum, were examined by Dr. G. D. H. Halstead in 1981, and proved to be a male C. turcicus and two female C. pusillus. Thus C. pusillus is confirmed and turcicus added to the Suffolk List, if that is, species such as these, normally only occurring under artificial conditions in Britain, can be added to acounty list! (Thereis apossibility that these species may already have been recorded from Suffolk, in a journal devoted to economic entomology.)

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BIPHYLLIDAE Diplocoelus fagi Guerin-Meneville Once considered to be a rarity, and known only from a handful of localities in Britain as late as the 1940's (Allen, 1945), D. fagi now seems to be extending its ränge. It was common under the bark of a large beech log at Bildeston (TL 997500), West Suffolk on 2nd October 1977, and still present in fair numbers a year later—H.M. Mr. D. R. Nash collected a Single specimen from under the bark of a felled beech on the Shrubland Estate (TM 1252), East Suffolk on 31st May 1979.

ENDOMYCHIDAE Symbiotes latus Redtenbacher Listed by Elliott (1936) with other species 'awaiting confirmation' and as yet unconfirmed. Mr. D. R. Nash sieved two specimens from the rotten wood of a small roadside elm stump in Tunstall Forest (TM 379560), East Suffolk on 17th February 1971, and the author collected thirteen specimens from the dry crumbling wood of a hollow beech log at Bildeston (TL 997500), West Suffolk on 17th September 1978.

LATHRIDIIDAE Enicmus brevicornis (Mannerheim) A Single specimen of this rare Lathridiid was found crawling over the recently sawn end of an elm log, in a log pile, in Felshamhall Wood (TL 9357) (Bradfield Woods Nature Reserve), West Suffolk on 3rd August 1980— H.M. Dienerellafilum(Aube) Another rarity, usually found associated with museum collections or stored products. The species was abundant in October 1980 amongst mouldy sawdust used to pack a birds' egg collection recently acquired by the Ipswich Museum. The collection came from Brantham, East Suffolk, as most probably did the infestation.

CERAMBYCIDAE Grammoptera holomelina Pool Still regarded by some as a mere variety of G. ruficornis (F.), andfirsttaken in Suffolk (v.-c. 25) by Mr. C. S. Barham (teste D. R. Nash) on theflowerof a wild rose at Great Glemham (TM 36) on 15th June 1974. A further specimen was taken in West Suffolk at the edge of Wolves Wood (TM 0543) near Hadleigh on 24th June 1978—H.M. Leptura rubra L. Now well established and fairly common in the Warren Wood area (TL 8385) of Thetford Forest, West Suffolk, where it wasfirstrecorded on 16th August 1980 (Mendel, 1982b). It must only be a matter of time before this species is found in the King's Forest and perhaps even the Rendlesham Forest area of East Suffolk.

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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 19 340 APIONIDAE Apion lacertense Tottenham First recognised as a species distinct from A. carduorum Kirby by J. H. K and described by Tottenham (1941) from specimens collected by Keys in Cornwali many years previously. To the few British records can now be added Thetford 'Heath Nature Reserve (TL 8479), West Suffolk. A Single specimen was beaten from oak on 6th September 1981, and a second examp from gorse the following week on 12th September—H.M.

CURCULIONIDAE Ceutorhynchus angulosus Boheman A Single specimen of this, one of the rarer species of Ceutorhynchus w swept from a herb rieh area of relict fen on Pashford Poors Fen Nature Reserve (TL 7383) near Lakenheath, West Suffolk on 15th June 1980— H.M.

Ceutorhynchus turbatus Schultze A relative neweomer to the British fauna (Henderson, 1951) associated with the introduced crucifer Hoary Cress, Cardaria draba (L.). So far known Britain from vice-counties: North and South Essex, East and West Kent, Cambridge, Hunts and Bedford (Morris, 1982)—and now East Suffolk. C. turbatus was common on C. draba growing on an embankment by the Orwell at Trimley (TM 2537) on 14th June 1980—H.M. Acknowledgements

I thank Dr. R. C. Welch and Messrs D. R. Nash and C. S. Barham for allowing me to include their unpublished records; Dr. D. G. H. Halstead for identifying Morley's Cryptolestes\ Messrs A. A. Allen and C. Johnson confirming my determination of Ceutorhynchus turbatus and Diener respectively, and Mr P.M. Hammond for information on Cymindis mac aris. For permission to collect on their land I thank Mr. J. H. Kemball (Staverton Park), the Suffolk Trust for Nature Conservation (Pashford Poors Fen N.R.), the Royal Society for Nature Conservation (Bradfield Woods N.R.) and the Nature Conservancy Council (Thetford Heath N.R.) References Allen, A. A. (1945). Diplocoelus fagi Guer. (Col., Cryptophagidae) in Surrey. Entomologist''s mon. Mag., 81, 7.

Allen, A. A. (1966). The rarer Sternoxia (Col.) of Windsor Forest. Ent. Ree., 78,14.

Dandy, J. E. (1969). Watsonian Vice-counties of Great Britain.

London.

Elliott, E. A. (1936). Critical Notes on ourbeetles. Trans. Suffolk Nat. 3,121.

Hammond, P. M. (1982). Cyminidis macularis (Fischer v. Waldheim) Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 19

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Carabidae)—apparently a British species. Entomologist's mon.

Mag., 118,37.

H a m m o n d , P. M. and B a r h a m , C. S. (1982). Laricobius erichsoni R o s e n h a u e r (Coleoptera: D e r o d o n t i d a e ) a species and superfamily New to Britain. Ent. Gaz., 33, 35.

H e n d e r s o n , J. L. (1951). Ceutorhynchus turbatus Schuhze (Col., Curculionidae) an addition to the British list. Entomologist's mon. Mag., 87, 309.

H o d g e , P. J. and Parry, J. A . (1982). Ptinus dubius Sturm (Col., Ptinidae) new to Britain. Ibid., 117 (1981), 225.

Kloet, G . S. and Hincks, W . D . (1977). A Check List of British Insects, 2nd.

Edition. Part 3: Coleoptera and Strepsiptera (revised R. D . Pope). Royal E n t . Soc., L o n d o n .

Mendel, H. (1982a). Hemicoelus nitidus (Hbst.) (Col., Anobiidae) new to Britain. Entomologist's mon. Mag., 118, 226.

Mendel, H. (1982b). Leptura rubra L. (Col., Cerambycidae) in Norfolk and Suffolk. Ibid., 118,52.

Morley, C. (1936). Proceedings. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc.,3 (2): eiv.

Morley, C. (1940). Neotropic Beetles in Suffolk. Ibid., 4, 190.

Morris, M. G . (1982). Ceutorhynchus turbatus Schultz (Col., Curculionidae) in Dorset, Bedfordshire and North Essex. Entomologist's mon. Mag. ,118, 241.

Nash, D . R. (1981a). Ptinuspusillus Sturm (Col., Ptinidae) in East Suffolk.

Ibid., 117, 144.

Nash, D. R. (1981b). Notes on the Suffolk List of Coleoptera: 3 Cucujidae and Silvanidae. Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc., 18 (3), 210.

T o t t e n h a m , C. E. (1941). Two Coleoptera New to Science in Britain.

Entomologist's mon. Mag., 77, 14.

Welch, R. C. (1977). Coleoptera collected at Sutton C o m m o n near W o o d bridge, Suffolk on 22 July 1976. Unpublished ms., Suffolk Biological Records C e n t r e .

H o w a r d Mendel, The Museum, High Street, Ipswich IP1 3 Q H .

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