Mordellistena pallipes, the pale-legged tumbling flower beetle,[2] is a species of beetle from the family Mordellidae. It has an extensive distribution across the northern United States and southern Canada, with its native range stretching east-to-west from New Hampshire to Minnesota, and north-to-south from Ontario to Virginia.
| Mordellistena pallipes | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Family: | Mordellidae |
| Genus: | Mordellistena |
| Species: | M. pallipes
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mordellistena pallipes J.B. Smith, 1882
| |
Taxonomy
editMordellistena pallipes was first described by American entomologist John Bernhardt Smith in 1882,[3] based on a specimen collected in Ithaca, New York.[4] The holotype specimen is held in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's entomology collection.[5]
It has been suggested that Mordellistena pallipes and its congener Mordellistena pratensis, which is known from South Carolina and Florida, may represent geographically separated forms of the same species. If they were to be formally merged into one species, Mordellistena pallipes would hold precedence as the valid name.[3]
Description
editMordellistena pallipes is a small, darkly-colored beetle measuring 2.5–3.2 mm (0.10–0.13 in) in length from its head to the tip of its elytra. Its leg ridge formula has been variably listed as either 2-3-1 or 2(3)-3-1, either of which allow it to be distinguished from its close relative Mordellistena pratensis, which has a leg ridge formula of 2-2-2. Its common name, the "pale-legged tumbling flower beetle," is derived from its pale-colored legs, which were declared to be a diagnostic characteristic of the species in Smith's original description.[3] However, later research conducted by Emil Liljeblad in 1945 determined that the middle and posterior legs are often significantly darker or even black in coloration.[6]
J.B. Smith's original description of the species is as follows: "All the legs pale testaceous—an unusual character in the genus—this point and the darker margins of elytra render the species easily recognizable. The rudiment of the third ridge is very short, having but two or three spinules but the pale color of the legs renders it easily noted, as the spinules are black. One specimen, Ithaca, N. Y.; my collection."[4]
Distribution and range
editMordellistena pallipes is native to the northeastern United States[3] and southern Canada.[1] It has been recorded in the U.S. states of Minnesota,[7] Michigan (Grand Ledge),[6][7] New Hampshire (Tamworth),[6][7] Massachusetts (Framingham, Natick),[6][7] New York, Maryland (Edgewater),[8] and Virginia (Dyke Marsh),[3] and the Canadian provinces of Ontario,[1] Manitoba (Aweme),[7][9] and Saskatchewan.[1]
Conservation status
editThe conservation status of this species is not well-documented, likely due to its rarity in nature.[6] It has not been evaluated by the IUCN Red List, and is unranked by NatureServe.[1] It is known to occur in several protected areas, including the Dyke Marsh Wildlife Preserve in Virginia[3] and Criddle/Vane Homestead Provincial Park in Manitoba.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Mordellistena pallipes". NatureServe Explorer. 3 May 2024. Archived from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ Canada General Status Common Names Working Group (April 2022) [2021]. "Standardized Common Names for Wild Species in Canada". Wild Species. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Steury, Brent W. & Steiner, Jr., Warren E. (September 2021). "The Tumbling Flower Beetles (Coleoptera: Mordellidae) of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, Virginia, USA" (PDF). The Maryland Entomologist. 8 (1): 77–78. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b Smith, John Bernhardt (1882). "A synopsis of the Mordellidae of the United States". Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 10 (1): 92. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ "Mordellistena pallipes Smith, 1882: Mordellidae : Coleoptera : Insecta : Arthropoda". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. September 2012 [3 October 1948]. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Liljeblad, Emil (24 December 1945). "Monograph of the Family Mordellidae (Coleoptera) of North America, North of Mexico". Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (62): 99–101. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Mordellidae Species List at Joel Hallan's Biology Catalog". Texas A&M University. Archived from the original on 7 October 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
- ^ Staines, Charles L. & Staines, Susan L. (17 November 2023) [20 October 2023]. Frederickson, Todd (ed.). "The Coleoptera of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. 2023 Supplement" (PDF). Banisteria. 56. Virginia Natural History Society: 116. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 May 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
Mordellistena pallipes Smith has an unknown biology. The single SERC specimen was taken in a flight intercept trap at Fox Point from 10-22 July 2023.
- ^ a b Criddle, Norman (1922). "The Entomological Record, 1920". Annual Report - Entomological Society of Ontario. Toronto: Ontario Department of Agriculture and Food.
