Insights from specimen data for two economic Chrysobothris species (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) in the western United States.

Abstract

Chrysobothris mali Horn and Chrysobothris femorata (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) are wood-boring beetles native to western North America. Both species are highly polyphagous, feeding on a wide range of deciduous trees and shrubs, including fruit and nut trees as well as shade trees grown as nursery stock. Chrysobothris femorata is widely distributed across North America, while C. mali occurs west of the Rocky Mountains. There is a notable lack of basic biological information regarding both species' phenology and distributions in the Pacific Northwest. To better understand the biology of these economically important insects, seasonal adult collection information, host plant association data, and morphological measurements were collected from preserved specimens residing in 5 major regional arthropod collections. Label information was collected from 661 C. mali and 165 C. femorata specimens. Collection location data were used to create a map of C. femorata and C. mali distributions in the western United States, indicating that C. femorata is significantly less abundant in California, Oregon, and Washington than C. mali. Of the 50 associated plant taxa noted on specimen labels, only 4 associations were shared between the species, potentially indicating host specialization. New reproductive hosts are recorded for C. femorata (2 hosts) and C. mali (3 hosts). Tree species commonly damaged by flatheaded borers in commercial orchards and nurseries were not present in the historical records. The insights gleaned from specimen data allow researchers to better understand the biology and ecology of these understudied, yet economically impactful insects in the western United States.