Phileurus valgus antillarum Prell, 1912

Gillett, Conrad P. D. T. & Gillett, Michael P. T., 2015, The Dynastinae of the island of Saba, Dutch Caribbean (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), Insecta Mundi 2015 (433), pp. 1-9 : 6

Phileurus valgus antillarum Prell, 1912

Figure 7

Specimens examined: 17

Saba locality data. The Level; Maskerhorne Hill; Mount Scenery; Great Hill. These records constitute NEW COUNTRY/ISLAND RECORDS.

Temporal data. January (1), February (1), March (3), April (3), May (1), June (7) and October (1).

Distribution. Phileurus valgus antillarum is restricted to the islands of the West Indies. It has been previously recorded from the Bahamas, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, La Désirade, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Marie-Galante, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, St. Barthélemy, St. Croix, St. Martin, and St. Vincent ( Peck et al. 2014; Ratcliffe and Cave 2010). The nominate subspecies is widely distributed from the southern United States to Argentina ( Ratcliffe and Cave 2006).

Remarks. Two larvae found in Great Hill in a dead branch were reared and hatched in May and June. Chalumeau (1983) recorded the species as not very common, although he mentions it being more abundant between March and June in Guadeloupe, where it occurs throughout the island at elevations up to about 500 m. The adults are attracted to lights, and the larvae have been recorded feeding on decomposing logs or trunks of Inga ingoides (Richard) and Mangifera indica Linnaeus ( Peck et al. 2014) .

Some nomenclatorial confusion has affected the status of the West Indian population of this species. It has previously been cited as P. valgus capra Bates 1888 (e.g. Ratcliffe and Cave 2006). However, as Ratcliffe et al. (2013) pointed out later, the type of Phileurus capra Bates is not from the West Indies. Therefore, the correct name for the Caribbean subspecies is Phileurus valgus antillarum Prell , described from Guadeloupe ( Prell 1912).

Figures

Figures 5–7. Dynastinae of Saba. 5) Cyclocephala mafaffa Burmeister. 6) Tomarus cuniculus (Fabricius). 7) Phileurus valgus antillarum Prell. Scales in millimetres. Photographs by Harry Taylor.