Subfamily Denticollinae

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Subfamily Denticollinae

Compiler and date details

31 December 1996 - Andrew A. Calder, CSIRO Entomology, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Introduction

The Denticollinae are a cosmopolitan subfamily of some 150 genera and 1500 species. The Australian fauna consists of 20 genera and 177 species (Calder 1998), and another two species are listed as incertae sedis in this Catalogue. Crepidomenus metallicus Schwarz, 1906 and Crepidomenus nigrifrons Schwarz, 1907 are missing from the collection of the Deutsches Entomologisches Institüt, Berlin, and are assumed to have been lost or destroyed. There is no comprehensive revision of the species. However, Calder (1986) has provided a revision of three genera: Arachnodima Candèze (as Orodina), Crepidomenus Erichson and Paracrepidomenus Schwarz describing 44 new species and providing a key to the known species. The genera Elatichrosis Hyslop (Neboiss 1960), Hapatesus Candèze (Neboiss 1957) and Toorongus Neboiss (Neboiss, 1957) were recently revised, with a total of 24 species and one genus being described as new.

The first described Australian denticollines were Ludius ramifer (now Dicteniophorus) (Eschscholtz, 1829) and Cylindroderus corrigiolatus (now Stichotomus) (Germar, 1848) from the vicinity of Adelaide. Boisduval (1835) decribed Elater australis (now Crepidomenus) and Elater hunteri (now Dicteniophorus ramifer (Eschscholtz)) collected on the voyage of the Astrolabe. Erichson (1842) described four new species and erected a new genus, Crepidomenus, from Tasmania, while Boheman (1858) described Crepidomenus luteipes from Sydney collected on the voyage of the Eugenies. Candèze (1859, 1863, 1878, 1882, 1887, 1889, 1893, 1897, 1900) described a total of 51 species and eight genera. The genus Chrosis, however, was preoccupied and was replaced with Elatichrosis by Hyslop (1921). Macleay (1872) described seven species from Gayndah, Queensland and Blackburn (1892, 1900) decribed two new species. Schwarz (1902a, 1902b, 1902c, 1902d, 1903, 1906, 1907) described 20 new species and erected a new genus Paracrepidomenus. Lea (1908) described two new species collected on King Island in Bass Strait. Elston (1929, 1930) described five new species in the genera Agonischius Candèze (now Drymelater Calder), Glypheus Candèze and Poemnites Buysson (now Neboisselater Calder). Carter (1935, 1939) decribed 17 new species in the genera Crepidomenus, Dicteniophorus Candèze, Glypheus and Microdesmes Candèze (as Limonius Eschscholtz). Blair (1935) described a new species of Crepidomenus (now Litotelater queenslandicus) from Mackay Queensland that was causing problems in sugar cane, the larvae of which was described by Glen (1950). The most recent work on this group has been by Neboiss and Calder, as listed above. Calder (1996) provided an overview and key to the Australian fauna, erecting nine new genera and describing four new species.

Most species are drab coloured although several species of Crepidomenus are distinctively marked with two yellow elytral stripes and species of Rousia Calder are distinctly bicoloured and are obvious lycid mimics. Corystelater kyoglensis Calder, a spectacular beetle with a large prominence on the pronotum resembling a helmet, is found in the northern New South Wales-southern Queensland border region. Denticolline species range in size from 3–33 mm. Female Dicteniophorus species and SA>Arachnodima opaca Candèze have extremely reduced hind wings and are obviously incapable of flight.

All genera except for Hapatesus which also occurs in New Guinea (Neboiss 1958), appear to be Australian endemics.

The biology of almost all denticolline species is poorly known. Litotelater queenslandicus (Blair) occurs in the soil of cultivated fields and grasslands around Mackay and has a life cycle of less than one year with pupation occurring in September to early October (McDougall 1934). Several species of Arachnodima Candèze are known pests of the establishing phase of cereal (barley and wheat) crops in South Australia and southern New South Wales and Hapatesus hirtus Candèze causes sporadic damage to potato crops in Victoria (Neboiss 1962; Smith 1980; Calder 1996).
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