Alevonota gracilenta (Erichson)

Klimaszewski, Jan, Langor, David W., Bourdon, Caroline, Gilbert, Amelie & Labrecque, Myriam, 2016, Two new species and new provincial records of aleocharine rove beetles from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae), ZooKeys 593, pp. 49-89 : 56-58

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Staphylinidae

Alevonota gracilenta (Erichson) Figs 35-43

Homalota gracilenta Erichson 1839:94. As Alevonota : Assing and Wunderle 2008: 172; Brunke et al. 2012: 162; Webster et al. 2016.

Diagnosis.

This species is easily distinguishable from other aleocharines by its small (1.8-3.4 mm) and elongate body (Fig. 35), small eyes, and distinctive genitalia (Figs 36-37, 42-43). Head and abdomen, except for the posterior margins of the segments and the apex, dark brown to blackish; pronotum brown to dark brown; elytra yellowish-brown to brown; legs yellowish; antennae yellowish to yellowish-brown, or rarely the whole body may be considerably darker or paler (Fig. 35). For a more detailed description, see Assing and Wunderle (2008) and Brunke et al. (2012).

Distribution.

Bionomics.

Alevonota gracilenta apparently prefers a wide range of unforested habitats in its native range, but is usually only collected in small numbers and using passive traps ( Assing and Wunderle 2008). It was suggested that known specimens represent dispersing individuals and that the real habitat preferences of this species remain unknown, but are possibly subterranean ( Assing and Wunderle 2008). In Newfoundland, one male was captured in an agricultural field in July. In New Brunswick, specimens were captured in Lindgren funnel traps in hardwood forests, a mixed forest, and an old white pine ( Pinus strobus L.) stand. In southern Ontario, specimens were captured in pitfall traps in soybean fields and hedgerows ( Brunke et al. 2012). Adults were captured in Canada from May to July.

Comments.

The accidental introduction of this obscure Palaearctic species into North America is surprising and may be recent as all known first discovered specimens are from 2009-2010 from two contiguous counties in southern Ontario ( Brunke et al. 2012). The presence of this uncommon species in New Brunswick and Newfoundland suggests that it may have been introduced into Canada earlier than previously thought and had been missed due to a lack of adequate sampling in the Atlantic Provinces ( Webster et al. 2016). A specimen from Colorado, identified as Alevonota by G.A. Lohse, is deposited in the CNC (A. Davies, personal communication) and study of this specimen may reveal that native Alevonota species occur in North America ( Brunke et al. 2012).