Abstract
Adults and larvae of Askalaphium depressum (Bates) live in association with hispine chrysomelid beetles of the genus Cephaloleia Chevrolat, in the appressed leaf axils of the riverside reed, Gynerium sagittatum (Aubl.) P. Beauv. This reed is locally known in Amazonian Perú as Caña Brava. Both adult and larval A. depressum eat larvae of Cephaloleia species and larvae of an unidentified dipteran, and perhaps other insects living in the confines of the leaf sheaths of that plant species. The geographic range of Caña Brava reed extends from subtropical South America northward to México (and Florida), but A. depressum has been found thus far at only three Amazonian localities, probably indicating its cryptic microhabitat and lack of collecting, therein. Likely, the range of this commensal carabid species is more extensive and may approach the range of its host plant and hispine food. Structural features of second and third instar larvae of A. depressum are described for the first time. Larval character states that are shared with a related ctenodactyline, Leptotrachelus dorsalis (Fabricius), provide a basis for characterization of the tribe Ctenodactylini.
References
Bates, H.W. (1871) Notes on Carabidae, and descriptions of new species (No. 1). The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine, 7, 218-224.
Bousquet, Y. & Goulet, H. (1984) Notation of primary setae and pores on larvae of Carabidae (Coleoptera: Adephaga). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 62, 575-588.
Erwin, T.L. (1985a) Tambopata Reserved Zone, Madre de Dios, Perú: History and description of the Reserve. Revista Peruana de Entomologia, 27, 1-8.
Erwin, T.L. (1985b) The taxon pulse: A general pattern of lineage radiation and extinction among carabid beetles. In, Ball, G. E. (Ed.) Taxonomy, phylogeny, and zoogeography of beetles and ants: A volume dedicated to the memory of Philip Jackson Darlington Jr. 1904 - 1983. Dr.W. Junk b.v. Publishers, The Hague, pp. 437-472.
Erwin, T.L. (1991) Natural history of the carabid beetles at the BIOLAT Biological Station, Rio Manu, Pakitza, Perú. Revista Peruana de Entomologia, 33, 1-85.
Erwin, T.L. (1997) Natural history of the carabid beetles at the BIOLAT Biological Station, Rio Manu, Pakitza, Perú, Supplement I. Additional records. In, Wilson, D. E. & A. Sandoval (eds.), Manu, The Biodiversity of Southeastern Perú. Editorial horizonte, Lima, pp. 359-368.
Liebke, M. (1938) Denkschrift über die Carabiden-Tribus Colliurini. Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstage für Prof. Dr. Embrik Strand, 4, 37-141.
Steiner, W.E., Jr. (1984) A review of the biology of phalacrid beetles. In Wheeler, Q. & Blackwell, M. (eds.), Fungus-Insect Relationships: Perspectives in Ecology and Evolution. Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 424-445.
Thompson, R.G. (1979) Larvae of North American Carabidae with a key to the tribes. In: Erwin, T. L., Ball, G.E., Whitehead, D.R. & Halpern, A.L. (Eds.) Carabid Beetles: Their Evolution, Natural History, and Classification. Proceedings of the First International Symposium of Carabidology. Dr. W. Junk b.v. Publishers, The Hague, pp 209-291.
Wilson, D.E. & Sandoval, A. (Eds.) (1996) Manu, The Biodiversity of Southeastern Perú. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC, 679 pp.
van Emden, F.I. (1942) A key to the genera of larval Carabidae (Col.). Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London, 92, 1-99.