New Host Records and a Review of Deadwood Associations for Mordellidae (Coleoptera) in North America

Abstract

The tumbling flower beetles (Mordellidae) comprise a large family of broad ecological interest. Many adults are commonly found on flowers and contribute to pollination, but surprisingly little is known about the larval biology of the group. Most species are thought to be saproxylic, although only a few scattered records of larval habits exist. Recent large-scale deadwood studies in the United States have reared mordellids, providing a wealth of new host records for many species. To improve the knowledge of mordellid associations with deadwood, we identified specimens previously sorted only to morphospecies to provide additional host records. We also reviewed the published deadwood associations of Mordellidae in North America north of Mexico. For this region, we report larval associations with deadwood for 29 mordellid species, of which nine are new. Larval deadwood associations are present in all three tribes and in 14 of 17 mordellid genera present in North America. This study also produced a new state record for Mordellaria borealis (LeConte, 1862) in South Carolina.