Occurrence of Nitidulid Beetles (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) in Texas Oak Wilt Centers

Abstract

In 1984–85 free-flying nitidulids were trapped in centers of oak wilt, Ceratocystis fagacearum (Bretz) Hunt, for 1 year at six locations in central Texas. Two of the 10 species identified, Cryptarcha concinna Melsheimer and Colopterus maculatus (Erichson), accounted for 57 and 35%, respectively, of the total number (3,397) of beetles trapped. Peak nitidulid activity occurred during March-May at all sites. Beetles exhibited some preference for tree location within a trapping site, visiting healthy live oaks, Quercus fusiformis Small, in greater numbers than dead Spanish oaks, Quercus texana Buckley.