The Ohio State University 1992 - 09 Nitidulidae ( Coleoptera ) Diversity in Three Natural Preserves in Portage County ,

A comparative study was initiated to determine if habitat influences the abundance and richness of nitidulid beetle fauna at three sites (Kent Bog, Tinkers Creek, and Gott Fen) managed by the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. These sites in Portage County were sampled from early May through late October of 1990. Six sampling techniques were used at each site: Skalbeck traps, windowpane traps, Japanese beetle traps, gallon jug traps, greenhouse flat traps, and carrion traps. Baits included: whole wheat bread dough, fermenting brown sugar, cantaloupe, carrion, and banana. Most frequently collected nitidulid species were Stelidota getninata (Say), Glischrochilus quadrisignatus (Say), G. fasciatus (Olivier), and Carpophilus lugubris Murray. At these three sites, several species of nitidulids appeared to be rare: Glischrochilus obtusus (Say), Glischrochilus sanguinolentus rubromaculatus (Reitter), Carpophilus hemipterus (L.), C sayi Parsons, Cryptarcha concinna Melsheimer, Cryptarcha strigatula Parsons, Colopterus maculatus (Erichson), C. semitectus (Say), Cychramus adustus Erichson, Epuraea helvola Erichson, E. rufa (Say), Prometopia sexmaculata (Say), Pallodes pallidus (Beauvois), and Phenolia grossa (Fabricius). Kent Bog appeared to have the greatest overall diversity of nitidulid species, followed by Tinkers Creek and Gott Fen. Species composition appeared to be most similar between Kent Bog and Tinkers Creek. A total of 30 species were collected with all attractants. Of these, 24 species were taken at Kent Bog, 15 species at Gott Fen, and 21 species at Tinkers Creek. All species are new records for Portage County. Ohio J. Sci. 92 (4): 82-S7, 1992 INTRODUCTION A comparative study was conducted among three habitats from early May through late October of 1990 to determine if a particular habitat influenced nitidulid species richness and abundance. The sites were selected because of their diverse and dissimilar flora, and because of their proximity to one another. The first site, Gott Fen, is a 5.5 ha boreal fen, or calcareous marl bog. The alkaline springs associated with this fen have a pH of 8-9 and a year-round temperature of 12.2° C, creating a microenvironment that enables Canadian-type vegetation to exist. Unique flora include showy lady's slipper, white wand-lily, round-leaved sundew, cotton grass, sphagnum moss, shrubby cinquefoil, tamarack, sage willow, and bayberry. Kent Bog, the second site, is a 16.9 ha acid peat bog with a pH of 4-5. Within this bog is the largest and southernmost stand of native tamarack in the continental United States. Other unique flora include the Virginia chain fern, goldthread, leather-leaf, blueberry, and yellow bartonia. The third site, Tinkers Creek, is a 318.1 ha marsh and swamp forest which offers a diversity of plant species. Cattail, willow, buttonbush, alder, shrubby dogwood, and red maple are quite common in and around the marsh region, and swamp white and pin oak dominate in the bottomland forests. Drier sites at Tinkers Creek are occupied by white, red, and chinquapin oaks, sugar maples, white pine, flowering dogwood, big-tooth and quaking aspens, and wild black cherry. 'Manuscript received 10 April 1992 and in revised form 13 July 1992 (#92-11). Present Address: Department of Entomology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 MATERIALS AND METHODS Diverse methods of trapping the beetles were deemed necessary to capture the maximum number of species of Nitidulidae within each area. Six sampling techniques were used at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) sites in Portage County: Skalbeck traps (Skalbeck 1976), windowpane traps (Peck and Davies 1980, Chapman and Kinghorn 1955), Japanese beetle traps (Williams et al. 1990), gallon jug traps (Robert Androw, pers. comm.), greenhouse flat traps, and carrion traps. The latter two were our own design used for the first time in these studies. Traps were baited with cantaloupe, carrion, whole wheat bread dough, banana, or fermenting brown sugar. Each lure was used twice at each site. Baits were replaced and beetles removed on a weekly basis except the carrion traps which were left for two to three weeks. Insects removed from traps were labeled in the field and returned to the laboratory for processing. Two Skalbeck traps were placed at each site on 1 May and run until 25 October 1990. These traps consisted of a wide-mouth, one pint canning jar with 0.64 cm hardware cloth inside the canning ring. A 15-5 cm piece of Masonite®, which serves as a rain and sun shield, is fastened to the center of the screen with a 0.48 x 6 cm bolt and is stabilized by two 0.48 x 4 cm bolts that are placed on opposite sides. The Masonite is attached about 3 cm above the surface of the lid to allow insects access. Whole wheat bread dough (WWBD) was used as the bait because of its attractiveness to a wide array of nitidulid beetles (Miller and Williams 1982). The bread dough recipe used included: 0.4 kg of whole wheat flour, 11.5 g of sugar or honey, 296 ml of warm water, and a 7 g package of dry active yeast. Approximately 30 g of dough were wrapped in a piece of fiberglass screen to prevent the beetles from OHIO JOURNAL OF SCIENCE R. N. WILLIAMS ET AL. 83 becoming imbedded in the dough. The bait was placed in the canning jar, and the trap lid was attached. Traps were set in holes 15 cm in diameter and 7-10 cm deep. A stake was driven in the ground to which the trap was wired to discourage raccoons and other scavengers. Two windowpane traps were placed at each site to obtain data on nitidulid beetles that might be flying through the areas. Traps consisted of a 60.96 cm piece of Plexiglas® connected on each side to a 2.54 x 10.16 x 91-44 cm board. The window traps were erected by digging holes approximately 30.48 cm deep and setting the stakes at either end of the windowpane in the holes. Troughs, consisting of pieces of PVC pipe 15.24 cm in diameter that had been split lengthwise and then sealed on each end so they would hold water, were placed underneath the window trap. Insects flying into the windowpane would drop into the troughs where they were trapped in detergent water. The insects were collected from the troughs using a large household strainer and fresh soapy water was added to replenish losses. Traps were put out on 23 May and specimens were collected weekly through 7 September. Two Japanese beetle traps (Trece®,white) with clear plastic bags as receptacles were set out at each site 6 June through 25 October. These traps were hung from metal rods approximately 1 m above the ground. In previous tests we had found that nitidulids in the genus Meligethes are attracted to the white trap (Williams, unpublished). These traps were also used for sampling at ground level (top of trap ca. 0.3 m above surface) from early June through the first week of September. However, traps were modified by replacing the plastic bags with 3.79 liter plastic containers that were suspended from a metal rod ca. 2 cm above ground level. Banana and whole wheat bread dough baits were placed inside small plastic containers that were covered with a fine mesh screen, and then these containers were placed inside the 3-79 liter containers in 2.5 cm of detergent water. Seven traps were placed at each location (three contained banana, three whole wheat bread dough, and one was a blank control). Traps were randomized and spaced approximately 2 m apart in a row. Traps were serviced weekly from 30 May through 1 September. Nitidulid beetles collected from the modified Japanese beetle traps were used to compare habitat similarities with regard to species richness and abundance. Two similarity indices were used: Jaccard (j/(a+b-j)), where "j" is the number of species in common, and "a" and "b" are the number of species in each habitat; and Sorenson modified (2jN/(aN+bN)), where "jN" is the sum of the lesser of the two values when each species is compared between habitats, and "aN" and "bN" are the total number of individuals for each species and habitat (Southwood 1978). Two fermenting brown sugar traps were placed in each site on 24 July. Large numbers of Glischrochilus obtusus (Say) have been collected in southern Ohio with this attractant (Robert Androw, pers. comm.). These traps were made from plastic 3.79 liter milk jugs with 6 cm2 entrances on opposite sides cut in the upper half to allow insects access. The bait was composed of 0.4 kg of brown sugar, 3-79 liter of water, and 3-5 g of dried yeast. Approximately 500 ml of this mixture was placed in each milk jug. Jugs were then hung about 1.3 m above the ground from a wire. On 4 October additional brown sugar traps were placed in the field and maintained for three weeks. However, these traps, which consisted of two solid plastic planting flats (50.8 x 25.4 x 5.08 cm) were placed on the ground. The bottom flat was filled with the same amount of brown sugar solution as previously described above, and the top flat was inverted and placed to provide a rain cover. Twist ties were used at the corners to keep the two flats together. Top flats were modified by cutting three 7.62 cm x 1.91 cm slits on each side and two equal slits in each end, providing access for the insects. Fresh brown sugar mixture was added weekly as collections were made. Two cantaloupe traps were placed at each site beginning on 2 August. A cantaloupe was cut into six wedges, with the rind left in place. Newspaper was wrapped around each wedge of cantaloupe, ensuring that the ends were left open to allow an entrance for the beetles. These baits were then placed in a ventilated plastic greenhouse flat. Another flat was placed on top of the first one, forming a raccoon-proof box, and the two were bound together with twist ties. These traps were placed on the ground and collected and changed weekly for eight weeks. The bait in each of two carrion traps at each site consisted of a chicken leg and a third of a fish (bluegill). Each meat was placed in a wide-mouth, one pint canning jar with the lid removed. One jar of each meat (chicken and fish) was then placed in a white, plastic 7.5 liter bucket and covered by an inverted apple crate with a 45.72 x 60.96 cm plywood rain shield attached. Chicken wire netting was placed around the crates to discourage small animals, and stakes were driven at angles through the wire and into the ground to secure the crates. Large pieces of wood were placed on top to further discourage raccoons. These treatments were collected every two to three weeks from 1 May through 9 August. RESULTS The most abundant nitidulid species trapped were those that are frequently considered pest or nuisance species. The strawberry sap beetle, Stelidota geminata (Say) was the most common insect in our survey (Table 1). The picnic beetles, Glischrochilus quadrisignatus (Say) and G. fasciatus (Olivier), were second and third in abundance, respectively. The fourth most abundant species was the dusky sap beetle, Carpophilus lugubris Murray. The majority of species trapped were collected in moderate numbers, with season totals between 10 and 100 (Table 1). Some nitidulids were less frequently collected (Table 2). Glischrochilus siepmanni Brown was recovered from whole wheat bread dough, fermenting brown sugar, banana, and cantaloupe baits from May through October at Gott Fen, but was not found until late August at Kent Bog, and September and October at Tinkers Creek. The cantaloupe substrate collected the most specimens (TV = 126), followed by the fermented brown sugar traps (7V= 72). Cantaloupe traps were placed in each of the three sites in Portage County anticipating the capture of G. sanguinolentus (Olivier) along with other nitidulid beetles. The fermenting brown sugar traps were placed in the field 84 NITIDULIDAE DIVERSITY VOL. 92