Pocadius fulvipennis Erichson, 1843

Cline, Andrew R., 2008, Revision of the sap beetle genus Pocadius Erichson, 1843 (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae: Nitidulinae, Zootaxa 1799 (1), pp. 1-120 : 66-68

Pocadius fulvipennis Erichson, 1843

(Figs. 20, 61, 104, 147, 189, 227)

Specimens examined. HOLOTYPE ♀ (Humboldt, Berlin): 8641 / HOLOTYPUS; Pocadius ; fulvipennis; Erichson, 1843 / fulvipennis; Er.; Mexico, Ehrenb. Additionally,> 400 specimens from western and southwestern North America, including: Canada - British Columbia; U.S.A. - Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho; and Mexico ( ASUT, CAS, CSCA, EMEC, LACM, MCZ, OSAC, SDMC, UAIC, UCMC, UCRC, USNM, WSUC). New distribution records include: IDAHO : Valley Co.; Round Valley , David M. Ward Jr. collr.; ex. puffball; 25-JUN-1995. IDAHO : Bonner Co.; Sandpoint, N.M. Downie; VII-8-1971 ( FMNH) .

Diagnosis. Distinguished from other species by: pronotum and head always darker than elytra, elytral apices often as dark as head and pronotum; terminal antennomere with distinct depressed region; prominent/ elongate tibial armature; granular mental-submental sulcus; broad abdominal process; slender concavity on anal sclerite for reception of tegmen; tegmen apex indentate; median lobe with well-developed acuminate apex and concave lateral margins; ejaculatory rods short, thick, robust and abutting each other and basal piece; gonocoxites with two elongate setae.

Description. Length 3.8 mm, Width 2.0mm, Depth 1.1mm. Body moderately convex, shining, dark red- dish-brown to dark brown, elytra lighter varying from light brown to light red-brown. Pronotum and elytra margins with elongate fimbriae. Dorsal and ventral pubescence overall elongate and light golden.

Head surface deeply, irregularly punctate, interspersed large and small punctures on vertex, smaller punctures more dense towards orbits and fronotclypeal region. Large punctures 3–4X diameter of eye facet, smaller punctures 1–1.5X diameter; interspaces smooth to finely alutaceous, shining, large punctures separated by 1–1.5 diameter of large puncture. Pronotal surface very densely punctate with large punctures equal to large punctures on head, interspersed with few small punctures, equal to smaller ones on head; interspaces smooth to alutaceous, large punctures 0.25–0.5 large puncture diameter apart. Scutellar surface with small impressed punctures throughout, interspaces alutaceous to granular. Elytral surface with serial rows of small deep punctures equal to small ones on pronotum, and serial large punctures equal to large ones on pronotum. Small punctures giving rise to semi-erect long setae, large punctures giving rise to semi-erect somewhat shorter setae; interspaces narrow between punctures within a row but quite broad between different rows. Within a row, small punctures separated by 1–1.5 puncture diameters, and large punctures by 0.50–0.75 puncture diameter. Large puncture rows separated by 2–3 diameters; interspaces shining but variable from finely alutaceous to smooth. Pygidium densely punctate, punctures equal to smaller ones on pronotum; interspaces narrow, 0.25–0.50 diameter, micro-reticulate.

Venter with shorter golden pubescence as dorsum. Mentum with large moderately impressed punctures equal to large ones on head; interspaces smooth to finely alutaceous. Prosternum and epimeron deeply irregularly punctate, punctures larger than those on mentum, 1.5X diameter, interspaces microreticulate to granular, prosternal punctures separated by 0.25–0.5 diameter, those on epimeron by 0.5 diameter. Mesoventrite with deeply impressed punctures, 1.25–1.5 diameter of those on prosternum, interspaces alutaceous to granular, separated by 0.5 diameter. Metaventrite irregularly punctate with moderately deep punctures on disc similar to those on mentum, interspaces smooth to alutaceous on metasternal disc becoming alutaceous to granular laterally, punctures separated by 1–2 diameters on disc. Abdominal sternite 1 with large moderately impressed punctures equal to those on metaventrite, interspaces alutaceous with some microreticulation, separated by 1– 1.5 diameter. Hypopygidium with moderately deep punctures, similar to those on sternites 2–4, interspaces alutaceous to granular with some microreticulation, separated by 0.25–0.5 diameter.

Head slightly wider than long (W:L = 1:1.3). Antennal club compact, oval, symmetrical with the last antennomere subequal to previous two combined. Antennomeres 6–8 compact, 7–8 disc-like. Antennal scape asymmetrical, distinctly hemispherical, 2X as long as pedicel. Pedicel subcylindrical to barrel-shaped. Antennal segment 3 long, 0.8 length of pedicel. Antennal segments 4–5 cuboid and equal in length. Antennal club large, 0.8 length of segments 1–8 combined. Antennal grooves deep and widely excavate, converging posteriorly. Elevated region of mentum broadly pentagonal with anterior angles broad but distinct, lateral sides short and perpendicular, anterior margin with acute medial apex, flattened in lateral view.

Pronotum widest near posterior angles (L:W = 1:2.2), anterior margin deeply trapezoidal, lateral margins arcuate from posterior to anterior angles. Scutellum large, broadly triangular, apex broadly rounded. Prosternal process in lateral view with anterior and posterior ends not prominent and convex in posterior 0.33, angulate in anterior 0.66; posterior apical wall not prominent, short, perpendicular. Mesoventrite extending to midway between mesocoxae, evenly broadly concave for reception of metaventrite. Metaventrite wider than long (W:L = 2.38:1). Metepisternum with slight medial constriction, oblique line dividing anterior 0.125. First abdominal sternite with broadly rounded process between metacoxae. First sternite 2X longer than sternite 2. Sternites 2–4 subequal. Hypopygidium subequal to sternite 1.

Protibia with apical tooth prominent, slightly longer than tarsomeres 1 and part of 2 combined. Outer apical notch with 105° angle, notch depth moderate, subequal to tarsomere 1. Inner apical spine subequal to tarsomere 1 and part of 2 combined. Protibia heavily armed. Mesotibia more heavily armed than protibia with dense stiff setae and row of slender spines along lateral edge. Outer apical process elongate and robust, larger than protibial process, equal to tarsomere 1 and 2 combined. Inner apical spine equal to tarsomeres 1–2 com- bined. Metatibia with armature similar to mesotibia, setae longer and apical spine and process more robust and longer.

Male genitalia well-sclerotized. Anal sclerite with apex somewhat fimbriate (Fig. 20). Spiculum gastrale with broad wide lateral flanges, medial margins concave proximally, elongate stiff setae originating from apex (Fig. 61). Tegmen broadly emarginate apically (Fig. 104), much longer than wide (w:l = 1.0:3.2), lateral row of setae visible from median fossa to around apex, three inner rows of setae present. Median lobe large and robust with lateral margins concave and apex sharply acuminate, 0.66 length of tegmen, apical opening not well-developed (Fig. 147). Ejaculatory rods not fused to basal piece but adjacent to it, and adjacent to each other apically and basally, slightly curved outward. Basal piece with deep medial concavity extending 0.75, proximally with three sharp projections, fused basally but not apically (Fig. 189).

Female genitalia moderately sclerotized. Paraprocts large with sclerotization along median line to baso-lateral angles. Gonocoxite with two basal lateral prominences and two elongate baculi extending down median region, 0.5 length of gonocoxal extension. Gonocoxal apices with recurved “tooth” present. Two long setae originate from small depressions on sides of gonocoxal teeth (Fig. 227).

Variation. Apical and lateral elytral margins often darker than rest of elytra, some specimens also with lighter pronotal lateral margin. Idaho specimens with more slender body shape. Females slightly larger than males, male pygidial apex broadly shallowly concave.

Seasonality/Habitat. Collected March–October from forested regions.

Distribution. Occurs from British Columbia, Canada in the north southward through the western U.S. ( Hatch 1961, McNamara 1991) and northern Mexico. More collection efforts in NW Mexico and Baja California are needed to verify southern range limits, as well as collecting in Alaska to verify northern limits.

Notes. Larval specimens were successfully reared from Lycoperdon puffball spores mixed 0.5:0.5 with rust spores by Lorin Gillogly (unpub. data). Gillogly labels stated maturation from larvae to adult took approximately 1–2 months on this medium. However, no definitive information was provided regarding the larval stage when rearing was initiated. Specimens reared on this diet were small bodied. Other host records include Calvatia giganteum ( Parsons 1943) .