Leptusa jucunda Klimaszewski & Majka

Introduction

Leptusa jucunda Klimaszewski & Majka is a Rove Beetles (Staphylinidae) of the subfamily Aleocharinae. Its species name derives from the Latin word jucundus, meaning pleasant or pleasing in allusion to the pleasant body form of this species as well as recognizing the first collections of the species in Pt. Pleasant Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. To date it is known from collections in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Ontario. The species was first recognized and described by Klimaszewski, Pelletier, and Majka (2004).

Bionomics It is abundant on fallen limbs and trees of red spruce, white pine, and jack pine in the subcortical galleries of Scolytines including (chiefly) Ips pini (Say), Polygraphus rufipennis (Kirby), Pityogenes hopkinsi Swaine, Orthotomicus caelatus (Eichoff), Dryocoetes affaber (Mannerheim), Crypturgus borealis (Swaine), and C. pusillus (Gyllenhal).

Other beetles co-inhabiting this environment include Syntomus americanus (Dejean) (Carabidae: Harpalinae); Paromalus teres LeConte (Histeridae: Dendrophilinae); Nudobius cephalus (Say) (Staphylinidae: Staphylininae); Phloeonomus laesicollis Mäklin (Staphylinidae: Omalinae); and Homalota plana Gyllenhal and Placusa tacomae Casey (Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae), all of which are present as adults during the winter months (the Scolytines additionally as larvae of various instars).

A year-round sampling program reveals that adults of this species are largely present from November 15 to April 27, during the late fall, winter, and spring. Frequent sampling in the habitat through the remainder of the year shows no adults to be present. Furthermore, sampling during the winter months (December, February, and March) revealed that the adults are quite active diurnally. The bark absorbs sunlight and warms and defrosts the subcortical environment on sunny days. Peeling the bark revealed them moving rapidly and showing no signs of torpor.

References

Klimaszewski, J., G. Pelletier, and C. Majka, 2004. A revision of Canadian Leptusa Kraatz (Col., Staphylinidae, Aleocharinae): new species, new distribution records, key and taxonomic considerations. Belgian Journal of Entomology, 6: 3-42.