Review of the larval host plants and biology for nine ... - Calodema

Calodema Supplementary Paper No. 73 (2008)(Loranthaceae) in the Jurien Bay area, Western Australia. Webb (1986) recorded adults of thisspecies [as Stigmodera] on flowers of Angophora, Kunzea and Leptospermum. Webb (1994)recorded adults of this species [as Stigmodera] as rare on the flowers of Bursaria on 23 January1985 at the Nalbaugh State Forest, New South Wales. Cowie (2001) noted that a specimen of thisspecies detected in Tasmania [somewhere between 1920-1940] was probably a migrant to thatState blown from the mainland and that the species may not be established in Tasmania.Life-stages: The larva was briefly described by Froggatt (1893).Published collection records with biological data: Adult host-plant record: Alfords Point, NewSouth Wales, 4 Nov. 1983, G.A. Webb, on flowers of Angophora hispida (Sm.) Blaxell, Kunzeaambigua (Sm.) Druce and Leptospermum polygalifolium Salisb. (Webb, 1986).Further comments: Bellamy (2003) failed to cite the host records of Gurney (1911), Van denBerg (1980), Hawkeswood (1981) and Webb (1986, 1994). Bellamy (2003) also cited Williams(1995) but did not list this publication in the references.Castiarina uptoni (Barker, 1993)Distribution: Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territory).Larval host-plant: Dicrastylis georgei Munir (Chloanthaceae)(Barker, 1993).Adult host-plant: Not recorded.Biology: Barker (1993) briefly noted that adults, pupae and prepupae of this species [asStigmodera] were discovered in pupal chambers in the dying stems and detached branches of theshrub Dicrastylis georgei Munir in Western Australia.Life-stages: The egg, larva and pupa have not been described.Published collection records with biological data: Larval host-plant record: Yanrey Station, 4-31km S of Barradale Roadhouse, Great Northern Highway, Western Australia, 10 August 1990, H.Demarz & S. Barker, adults, pupae and prepupae from dying stems and branchlets of Dicrastylisgeorgei Munir (Chloanthaceae)(Barker, 1993).Further comments: Bellamy (2003) cited the Barker (1993) paper but not the larval host plantrecord.Castiarina verdiceps (Barker, 1979)Distribution: Australia (Western Australia).Larval host-plant: Acacia sp. (Mimosaceae)(Barker, 1979; Hawkeswood & Peterson, 1982).Adult host-plant: Not recorded.Biology: The only published data on the larval biology of this species is the larval host record ofH.W. Brown cited in Barker (1979) and Hawkeswood & Peterson (1982)(see details below, asStigmodera).Life-stages: The egg, larva and pupa have not been described.Published collection records with biological data: Larval host-plant record: Port Samson, WesternAustralia, 23 Dec. 1946, H.W. Brown, adult from an unidentified Acacia sp. (Mimosaceae)(Barker, 1979; Hawkeswood & Peterson, 1982).DiscussionThere are approx. 480 species of Castiarina so far described, therefore those with known larval host plantrecords represent of this total only 1.9%. A more detailed discussion on the biology and host plants ofCastiarina, related genera and the rest of the family in Australia will be published elsewhere.Suffice to say at the moment, the meagre larval host plant data so far available indicate that thegenus Castiarina utilizes a wide spectrum of native hosts from a wide variety of habitats. The factthat these nine species are from a diverse range of species-groups, indicates that independentspeciation has occurred and that Castiarina, as presently recognized, actually encompasses anumber of genera and subgenera. This has been confirmed on morphological attributes (Turnerand Hawkeswood, 2008, unpublished, in preparation). It should be noted that most of thereferences quoted here in the present paper were not quoted by Bellamy (2003) and Barker(2006). In regards to referencing and other matters, these works are seriously inadequate [see alsoHawkeswood (2006a) and Hawkeswood & Turner (2008)].Page 4

Calodema Supplementary Paper No. 73 (2008)Of the larval host records presented above, perhaps the most interesting is the record of Oke(1924), which records a Dodonaea sp. as a larval host plant for C. parallela (White).Unfortunately this record has apparently never been substantiated. No other Australian jewelbeetle has been recorded utilizing this plant as larvae, although Hawkeswood (1978) recorded aCisseis sp. feeding on leaves of Dodonaea triquetra Wendl. (Sapindaceae) in the Blue Mountains(Hawkeswood, 1978). This Cisseis sp. may prove to utilize this plant as a larval host, because ofits adult host specificity.The record of Clerodendrum (Verbenaceae) as a larval host plant for C. decipiens (Westwood) isalso of much interest since only one other Australia buprestid is known to breed in this plant viz.Melobasis purpurascens (Fabricius)(Hawkeswood, 1992, 2006b). Further research on this plantthroughout its range should reveal further buprestid parasites.The record of Muellerina (Loranthaceae) as a larval host has been previously discussed byHawkeswood & Peterson (1982). Mistletoes are rarely utilized by buprestids so the record is ofgreat interest However, the record has still been verified by recently collected larval material orother biological observations.The larval host record of Dicrastylis georgei Munir (Chloanthaceae) for two closely relatedCastiarina species by Barker (1993) is also of great interest since no other buprestids have beenrecorded from this plant species, at least in the larval stages. Also, the adult host plant of one ofthese two Castiarina also appears to be unknown. Further field research on this relationshipwould no doubt reveal further previously unknown aspects of the biology etc. of these beetles.ReferencesBarker, S. (1979). New species and a catalogue of Stigmodera (Castiarina) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae).Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 103: 1-23.Barker, S. (1993). Seventeen new species of Australian Buprestidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) and a host plant ofCastiarina uptoni (Barker). Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 117: 15-26.Barker, S. (2006). Castiarina - Australia’s richest jewel beetle genus. Australian Biological Resources Study,Canberra.Bashford (1990). Tasmanian Host Plants ad Their Host Insects: Records from the Tasmanian ForestryCommission Insect Collection. Forestry Commission of Tasmania, Hobart: 1-32.Bellamy, C.L. (2003). Coleoptera: Buprestoidea. In: Houston, W.W.K. (ed) Zoological Catalogue ofAustralia. Volume 29.5. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne: 1-485..Cowie, D. (2001). Jewel Beetles of Tasmania. Tasmanian Field Naturalists’ Club Inc., Hobart: 1-40.Froggatt, W.W. (1893). On the life-histories of Australian Coleoptera. Part I. Proceedings of the LinneanSociety of New South Wales, 18: 27-42.Gurney, W.B. (1911). A study of wattle trees (Acacia) and a list of insects of wattle trees. AustralianNaturalist, 2: 56-59.Hawkeswood, T.J. (1978). Observations on some Buprestidae (Coleoptera) from the Blue Mountains, N.S.W.Australian Zoologist, 19: 257-275.Hawkeswood, T.J. (1981). Notes on the pollination of Nuytsia floribunda (Labill.) R.Br. (Loranthaceae) andsome literature reviewed. Western Australian Naturalist, 15: 17-21.Hawkeswood, T.J. (1987). Beetles of Australia. Angus & Robertson Publishers, Sydney: 1-248 + viii.Hawkeswood, T.J. (1992). Review of the biology and host plants of the Australian jewel beetle, Melobasispurpurascens (Fabricius)(Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Sydney Basin Naturalist, 1: 51-54.Hawkeswood, T.J. (1993). Notes on Stigmodera (Castiarina) decipiens Westwood (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), arare jewel beetle from coastal Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. The Entomologist, 112:34-36.Hawkeswood, T.J. (2002). A review of the biology and host plants of Australian Buprestidae (Coleoptera)known to breed in Eucalyptus species (Myrtaceae). Journal of the Entomological Research Society, 4:31-58.Page 5

Calodema Supplementary Paper No. 73 (2008)Hawkeswood, T.J. (2006a). Book Review: Bellamy, C.L. (2003). Zoological Catalogue of Australia 29.5.Coleoptera: Buprestoidea. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria. Calodema, 8: 29-32.Hawkeswood, T.J. (2006b). Review of the biology of Melobasis purpurascens (Fabricius, 1801) (Coleoptera:Buprestidae). Calodema, 5: 5-8.Hawkeswood, T.J. & Peterson, M. (1982). A review of the larval host records for Australian jewel beetles(Coleoptera: Buprestidae). Victorian Naturalist, 99: 240-251.Hawkeswood, T.J. & Turner, J.R. (2008). Book Review: Barker, S. (2006). Castiarina - Australia’s richestjewel beetle genus. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. Calodema SupplementaryPaper No. 67: 1-5.Oke, C. (1924). Notes on the Natya district. Victorian Naturalist, 41: 7-18.Tepper, J.G.O. (1887). Common native insects of South Australia. A popular guide to South AustralianEntomology. Part 1. Coleoptera or beetles. E.S. Wigg & Son, Adelaide: 1-46.Van Den Berg, M.A. (1980). Natural enemies of Acacia cyclops A. Cunn. ex G. Don and Acacia saligna(Labill.) Wendl. in Western Australia. II. Coleoptera. Phytophylactica, 12: 169-171.Webb, G.A. (1986). Flower-visiting beetles of some New South Wales Leptospermoidea (sic). VictorianNaturalist, 103: 170-174..Webb, G.A. (1994). Some insects found on Blackthorn, Bursaria spinosa Cav. (Pittosporaceae) flowers atBombala, New South Wales. Victorian Naturalist, 111: 238-240.Williams, G.A. (1977). A list of Buprestidae (Coleoptera) collected from Leptospermum flavescens Sm. at EastMinto, New South Wales. Australian Entomological Magazine, 3: 81-82.Williams, G.A. (1985). New larval food plants for some Australian Buprestidae and Cerambycidae(Coleoptera). Australian Entomological Magazine, 12: 41-46.Williams, G.A. (1995). Pollination Biology of Lowland Subtropical Rainforests in New South Wales.Unpublished PhD thesis, University of New South Wales, Kensington.Williams, G.A. & Williams, T. (1983). A list of the Buprestidae (Coleoptera) of the Sydney Basin, NewSouth Wales, with adult food plant records and biological notes on food plant associations.Australian Entomological Magazine, 9: 81-93.Page 6