Nicrophorus tomentosus Weber, 1801

Mullins, Patricia L., Riley, Edward G. & Oswald, John D., 2013, Identification, distribution, and adult phenology of the carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) of Texas, Zootaxa 3666 (2), pp. 221-251 : 236

Nicrophorus tomentosus Weber, 1801

Figs. 12 , 30 , 43 , 56

Necrophorus tomentosus Weber, 1801: 47 (see Sikes et al. (2002) for synonymy).

Diagnosis. Body length 13–17 mm, black except for anterior and posterior elytral maculae red-orange; epipleuron entirely red-orange except for upper portion anterior to humeral callus black, anteriorly with golden hairs; anterior and posterior maculae strongly transverse, not joined laterally, with borders undulated, reaching epipleuron and almost reaching elytral suture. Antennal club entirely black. Pronotum subquadrate with weak transverse anterior impression, disc covered with dense golden pubescence, lateral margins moderately broad. Dorsal surface of elytron without long hairs. Epipleural ridge extended to point below or almost below humeral callus. Lateral portion of metasternum with dense golden hairs; Posterior lobe of metepimeron glabrous or nearly so. Tarsal empodium bisetose.

Range. Nova Scotia south to South Carolina , west to Saskatchewan, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico (Anderson & Peck 1985, Peck & Kaulbars 1987).

Texas distribution. See Fig. 56 . This species is confined to the Texan and Austroriparian biotic provinces of Texas. It occurs in the pineywoods and blackland prairie Texas vegetational areas. Confirmed counties (5): Houston, Lamar, Nacogdoches, San Jacinto, Tyler. Collections: EGRC, PLM, SFAC, TAMIU, UTIC.

Seasonality in Texas. See Fig. 43 . The adult seasonality profile of this species (based on 9 occurrence records: Appendix I) is weakly bimodal, with a large peak in spring and summer and a much lower peak in fall. The bimodal seasonal profile may be an artifact of having only a few occurrence records for this species; none-the-less, a bimodal profile is consistent with the seasonal trapping data provided for this species by Trumbo (1990a).

Biological Notes. Anderson and Peck (1985) report that adults are diurnal and are found in a variety of environmental conditions. This species was mostly collected in open, sandy prairies in Kansas (Lingafelter 1995). In Ontario, this species is more commonly collected in coniferous forests and meadows (Anderson 1982).

Data from examined labels. Collecting methods: carrion trap, hanging carrion trap, pit-fall trap. Habitat records: sandy meadow [pit-fall trap]. Carrion records: dead cow. This species seems to not be abundant in Texas and is restricted to the eastern vegetational areas of the state. Trumbo (1992) published on the reproductive behavior of this species. Trumbo (1990a) published on the ecology of this species in the southeastern United States. Trumbo (1990b) studied reproduction and brood size, and Milne and Milne (1944) studied the behavior of this species in the field. Anderson (1982) discussed the natural history of the species.

Remarks. Nicrophorus tomentosus was not reported from Texas on the range map provided by Peck and Kaulbars (1987), but “TX” was cited in the known range of the species given by Peck and Miller (1993). Our records confirm the occurrence of this species in eastern Texas.

Figures

FIGURE 43. Adult seasonality profile based on occurrence records for Nicrophorus tomentosus. For an explanation of occurrence record calculations, see Methods.

FIGURES 12 – 17. Details of Texas Silphidae. 12. Nicrophorus tomentosus, tarsal empodium bisetose; 13. Nicrophorus marginatus, yellow pubescence of posterior lobe of metepimeron, no hairs on dorsal surface of elytra; 14. Nicrophorus marginatus, pronotum. 15. Nicrophorus orbicollis, posterior lobe of metepimeron glabrous, long hairs on dorsal surface of elytra; 16. Nicrophorus pustulatus, pronotum; 17. Nicrophorus mexicanus, pronotum.

FIGURES 24 – 30. Habitus of Texas Nicrophorus. 24, N. americanus; 25, N. carolinus; 26, N. marginatus; 27, N. mexicanus; 28, N. pustulatus; 29, N. orbicollis; 30, N. tomentosus. All scale bars = 10 mm.

FIGURES 56 – 59. 56, Distribution maps for Texas Silphidae, Nicrophorinae (part). Nicrophorus tomentosus. 57, Hanging carrion trap. 58, Biotic provinces of Texas according to Blair (1950). 59, Vegetational areas of Texas according to Hatch et al. (1990).