Notes on the biological development of the darkling beetle Blaps nefrauensis nefrauensis Seidlitz, 1893 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Several endemic species of Blaps occur in Tunisia, and the species Blaps nefrauensis nefrauensis has been reported in Moulares (urban zone in west-central Tunisia), where it lives and reproduces in home gardens and old buildings. The aim of this work is to study the life cycle of the darkling beetle, considering both field and laboratory rearing conditions. As a result, the beetle species has different developmental stages (egg, larva, prepupa, pupa, and adult) that last about 15 months. Each year during the same period, adults emerge (early summer) and expire (late autumn), larvae hatch (late summer) and pupate (early summer). There is only one generation per year. Females began laying eggs in late July. The eggs were ovoid, white, and about 2.7 mm in length and 1.5 mm in width. Embryogenesis took an average of nine days. The first instar larvae were at initially only 4.5 mm long and ivory white in color. A brief description of the newly egg hatched larva was provided; thus, the nerve fibers innervating the apical setae in the antennae and ligula were detected. Further light microscopic examination of the embryo before hatching from the egg pointed out that the antennal sensilla are protected during the embryogenesis stage.

Repellent and Toxicant Effects of Eight Essential Oils against the Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

This study was conducted to compare the repellent effect and contact toxicity of eight essential oils (EOs), including Syzygium aromaticum, Allium sativum, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Lavandula officinalis, Simmondsia chinensis, Matricaria chamomilla, Citrus limon, and Prunus dulcis, against adults of Tribolium castaneum Herbst. Four concentrations (1, 5, 10, and 15% in acetone solvent) of each EO were tested. The 5, 10, and 15% concentrations of S. aromaticum EO had a high repellency effect against T. castaneum compared with A. sativum, E. camaldulensis, L. officinalis, S. chinensis, M. chamomilla, C. limon, and P. dulcis after 30 min of exposure. The repellency test of the S. aromaticum, E. camaldulensis, L. officinalis, M. chamomilla, C. limon, and P. dulcis EOs on T. castaneum has shown that the mortality percentages enhanced with the increase in the EOs concentration and also with the exposure time. The 15% concentration of P. dulcis and M. chamomilla EOs have a significant impact on the mortality rate of T. castaneum compared with S. aromaticum, A. sativum, E. camaldulensis, L. officinalis, and S. chinensis after the 24 h of contact test. Moreover, the 15% concentration of the C. limon EO caused a greater mortality percentage compared with S. aromaticum, A. sativum, E. camaldulensis, and L. officinalis. It could be concluded that using the S. aromaticum EO as a repellent oil and using P. dulcis, M. chamomilla, and C. limon for contact toxicity to treat the flour infested by T. castaneum can play an important role in protecting stored grains and their products.

Clitobius grimmi sp. n. from Egypt with notes on C. oblongiusculus (Fairmaire, 1875) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Blaptinae)

Ten valid species of the genus Clitobius Mulsant & Rey, 1859 have been published so far from the Palaearctic, Afrotropical and Oriental Regions. With C. grimmi sp. n. from Egypt an eleventh species is here described and illustrated. Specimens representing the newly proposed species were identified as C. oblongiusculus (Fairmaire, 1875) in many of the surveyed entomological collections. This could potentially be explained by the superficial convergence of C. grimmi sp. n. with the description of Halomenus lineicollis Fairmaire, 1879, which is now considered a junior synonym of C. oblongiusculus. Morphological distinctiveness of all of the above mentioned taxa is hereby discussed. The lectotype for Halonomus lineicollis Fairmaire, 1879 is designated in order to fix the nomenclatural status of that taxon. The determination key of Purchart & Kamiński (2017) to the Clitobius species is updated with the following taxa: Clitobius subplumbeus (Fairmaire, 1892) and C. grimmi sp. n.

Prima segnalazione per l’Italia di Cryphaeus cornutus (Fischer von Waldheim, 1823) e della tribù Toxicini con osservazioni sulla distribuzione della specie in Europa (Coleoptera Tenebrionidae Toxicini)

Viene reso noto il primo ritrovamento di Cryphaeus cornutus (Fischer von Waldheim, 1823), e della tribù Toxicini, in Italia (Emilia- Romagna): nell’autunno 2017 sono stati fotografati due esemplari (maschio e femmina) su un tronco in decomposizione presso le rive del fiume Enza, nel territorio del comune di Traversetolo (prov. di Parma). Viene discussa la distribuzione generale di questa rara specie saproxilofaga e xilomicetofaga e l’apparente espansione del suo areale. Viene inoltre confermata con dati recenti, dopo oltre 120 anni, la presenza di Cryphaeus cornutus in Grecia.

The first fossilized comb-clawed beetle of the genus Asiomira Dubrovina, 1973 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae: Alleculinae) from Baltic Amber and notes on the distribution of extant species of the genus

A new species of comb-clawed beetles of the genus Asiomira Dubrovina, 1973 (A. dubrovinae sp. n.) is described from the Eocene Baltic amber. This newly descovered fossil species displays typical generic characters and is the most similar to the extant Asiomira ophtalmica (Seidlitz, 1896). Both species share a similar shape of the pronotum and the flattened posterior angles of the pronotal disc. Asiomira dubrovinae sp. n. can be distinguished from A. ophtalmica by the smaller body size (4.8 mm in contrast to 6–8.12 mm), more serrate antennomeres, and finer and sparser pronotal punctation. Extant species of the genus are distributed in the arid landscapes of Central Asia with the highest diversity occurring in Tajikistan. Therefore the discovery of a new fossil species from Eocene Baltic amber suggests that Asiomira could have a wider range, and the modern distribution of this group is the result of a later secondary expansion of the ancestral representatives that survived in mid-mountain areas with arboreal and shrub vegetation. Relevant corrections to the distribution of extant species, Asiomira ophtalmica (Seidlitz, 1896) and Asiomira firjusana (Dubrovina, 1973), are given.

Discovery of the genus Platycotylus Olliff, 1883 (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae) in Japan: Description of a new and remarkable species

The genus Platycotylus Olliff, 1883 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is recorded from Japan (Nakanoshima Island, Tokara Islands) for the first time, through the discovery of a new and remarkable species, Platycotylus merklisp. nov., which is described herein. The male of this new species can be distinguished from all known males of other congeneric species by its long and asymmetrical epistomal horn. Although this new species is most similar to Platycotylus parvicollis (Pic, 1923), for which a male has not been examined, it can be distinguished from this species by its simple sparse pronotal punctation, smaller eyes, and acutely produced temples.