Beetles (Coleoptera) of the Shell Picture Card series ... - Calodema

Calodema Supplementary Paper No. 44 (2007)
Beetles (Coleoptera) of the Shell Picture Card series: Lucanidae
by Dr Trevor J. Hawkeswood*
*PO Box 842, Richmond, New South Wales, Australia, 2753 (www.calodema.com)
Hawkeswood, T.J. (2007). Beetles (Coleoptera) of the Shell Picture Card series: Lucanidae. Calodema Supplementary
Paper No. 44: 1-3.
Abstract: Three cards depicting Lucanidae species (Coleoptera) from Australia in the Shell Picture Card series entitled
Australian Beetles is reviewed in this paper. The original cards are supplied as illustrations with the original
accompanying data. Comments on these data are provided.
Introduction
During the early 1960’s the Shell Petroleum Company issued a number of Picture Card series dealing with the
fauna and flora of Australia. The cards were handed out free at Shell service stations across the country (when
petrol stations did give proper service!) and were housed in an album which was purchased separately. This
paper reviews the Lucanidae (Coleoptera) of the Australian Beetles series (card numbers 301-360)(1965). The
other beetle groups will be dealt with in other papers. The reason for these papers is to provide the illustrations
and data for future workers since the Shell Picture Card series are rare and have seldom been referred to as a
result.
Species
Card no. 320 - Golden Green Stag Beetle, Lamprima latreillei Macleay
Card data: “This beetle is one of our most brilliantly-coloured and beautifully shaped species. It is
found during the warmer months of the year in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Its
family is Lucanidae, and the adult beetles may often be seen at rest on the foliage of trees. The
male is larger than the female and has longer jaws. The larvae breed in rotting wood. ”
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Calodema Supplementary Paper No. 44 (2007)
Comments: Nothing appears to have been written on the biology of this species since publication
of the Shell Picture Card series. Earlier, Froggatt (1915) recorded notes on the biology of the
beetle, which occurs only in New South Wales and Victoria. The related species, Lamprima
aurata Latreille, occurs in Queensland (Hawkeswood, 1987).
Card no. 333 - Resplendent Stag Beetle, Phalacrognathus muelleri Macleay
Card data: “This is certainly one of the rarest and most beautiful of Australian beetles. The males
are larger and have much bigger jaws than the females. Stag beetles inhabit the rain forests of
Northern Queensland, where their larvae are generally found boring into rotting logs of the red
cedar. This beetle belongs to the family Lucanidae. ”
Comments: This species is very well known and sought after by insect collectors and unscrupulous
traders (see Hawkeswood et al., 1991). Hawkeswood (1987) reviewed the biology of the species.
Earlier, Brunet (1981) provided biological notes on the species, while later, Wood et al. (1996)
provided further biological data and a summary of most of the published data on the species to
that date. The species is restricted to the rainforests of north Queensland. “red cedar” mentioned
in the Shall Picture Card data above, is Toona (Cedrela) australis (Meliaceae).
Card no. 359 - Barrington Stag Beetle, Lissapterus tetrops Lea
Card data: “Flightless stag beetles (family Lucanidae) frequent the wet, mountain-forest regions
of Tasmania and the mainland Great Dividing Range. This species is found at Barrington Tops
plateau, Mount Royal Range, New South Wales. The male (illustrated) has long, pincer-like jaws
but is unable to bite; the female, with much shorter jaws, can inflict a painful nip. Adult beetles
are found under fallen logs in which the larvae feed. ”
Comments: This species is poorly known and nothing appears to have been written on it since
the Shell Picture Card series.
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Calodema Supplementary Paper No. 44 (2007)
References
Brunet, B.L. (1981). Some observations on the North Queensland stag beetle. North Queensland Naturalist,
45: 12-13.
Froggatt, W.W. (1915). Notes and exhibits. Note on the life-history of Lamprima latreillei. Proceedings of the
Linnean Society of New South Wales, 40: 210.
Hawkeswood, T.J. (1987). Beetles of Australia. Angus & Robertson Publishers, Sydney.
Hawkeswood, T.J., Callister, D.J. & Antram, F. (1991). Collection and export of Australian Insects: An
analysis of legislative protection and trade to Europe. Traffic Bulletin, 12: 41-48.
Wood, G.A., Hasenpusch, J. & Storey, R.I. (1996). The life history of Phalacrognathus muelleri (Macleay)
(Coleoptera: Lucanidae). Australian Entomologist, 23: 37-48.
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