ZOPHERIDAE, Solier, 1834

Ferro, Michael L., Nguyen, Nhu H., Tishechkin, Alexey, Park, Jong-Seok, Bayless, Victoria & Carlton, Christopher E., 2013, Coleoptera Collected from Rotting Fishhook Barrel Cacti (Ferocactus wislizeni (Engelm.) Britton and Rose), with a Review of Nearctic Coleoptera Associated with Succulent Necrosis, The Coleopterists Bulletin 67 (4), pp. 419-443 : 434

ZOPHERIDAE

Colydiinae

Bitoma gracilis Sharp ( Fig. 25 )

Comments. Bitoma Herbst is a large, worldwide genus in need of revision. Fourteen species occur in North America north of Mexico, see Stephan (1989) for a key to North American species.

Range. Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Mexico, Guatemala ( Leng 1920; Blackwelder 1957; Stephan 1989).

Habitat. Adults “not rare” in dry debris of dead saguaro ( Carnegiea gigantea ) ( Hubbard 1899, as Ditoma gracilis ); in Dasylirion wheeleri ( Hubbard 1901, as Ditoma gracilis ); incidentally associated with cactus ( Hunter et al. 1912, as Ditoma gracilis ); occurs in lower deserts, taken from under bark of dead palo verde, leaf-axils of dying sotol, agave, and yucca, and nest piles of pack rats ( Stephan 1989).

Biology. Poorly known; probably fungivorous; adults collected year round; taken at lights ( Stephan 1989).

Additional References. Blackwelder 1957; Casey 1897 (as Bitoma suffusa Casey ); Fall and Cockerell 1907 (as Ditoma gracilis ); Leng 1920; Moore 1937 (as Bitoma suffusa ); Sharp 1905a; Schaeffer 1907 (as Bitoma prosopis Schaeffer and Bitoma vittata Schaeffer ); Stephan 1989 (key to species); Wickham 1898 (under bark, as Ditoma suffusa ).

Figures

Figs. 20–25. Habitus images of Coleoptera in decayed barrel cacti. 20) Deroderus sp.; 21) Belonuchus ephippiatus; 22) Tachinomorphus grandis; 23) Tachinomorphus grossulus; 24) Cynaeus angustus; 25) Bitoma gracilis, photograph by Nathan Lord.