Atheta (Pseudota) pseudoklagesi Klimaszewski & Webster

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 : 60

Taxon classification Animalia Coleoptera Staphylinidae

Atheta (Pseudota) pseudoklagesi Klimaszewski & Webster Figs 61-68

Diagnosis.

This is a sibling species of Atheta klagesi and was previously confused with the latter in collections. It may be distinguished from Atheta klagesi by its slightly larger size, less glossy body, less intense yellowish colouration of spots on elytra, legs, bases of antennae and maxillary palps, and overall less contrasting body colour (Fig. 61); median lobe of aedeagus has longer tubus and slightly different shape of apex in lateral view (Fig. 62); spermatheca (Fig. 68) is very similarly shaped in both species and females may be difficult to identify without accompanying males.

Distribution.

Bionomics.

In Newfoundland, adults were collected in pitfall traps in boreal forests in July and August. In New Brunswick, adults of this species were found in mature mixed forest, old-growth and old white spruce and balsam fir forests, a mature red spruce forest, and in a wet alder swamp. Specimens were collected from coral fungi on a Populus log, fleshy polypore fungi at base of a dead standing Populus , in decaying gilled mushrooms, in gilled mushrooms, and under bark of red spruce ( Webster et al. 2016). Adults were collected from May to September.

Comments.

In the past, the two sibling species were mixed together and identified as Atheta klagesi . All material across Canada and the USA needs to be re-examined for understanding the true distribution of the two species. In this paper, only Newfoundland and New Brunswick specimens were re-evaluated ( Webster et al. 2016).