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Cholevomorpha picta Blackburn, 1891 (a species of round fungus-beetle)

Basis for Tasmanian occurrence

Semmens, T.D., McQuillan, P.B. & Hayhurst, G. (1992). Catalogue of the Insects of Tasmania. Government of Tasmania: Department of Primary Industry, 104 pp. (as Cholevomorpha picta)

Classification

Order: Coleoptera

Suborder: Polyphaga

Superfamily: Staphylinoidea

Family: Leiodidae

Subfamily: Camiarinae

Tribe: Agyrtodini

Morphology

Typical length (mm): 3.5
Flightedness: winged and assumed capable of flight

Source literature on morphology and taxonomy (*primary taxonomic source, where identified):
*Blackburn, T. (1891a). Further notes on Australian Coleoptera, with descriptions of new genera and species: IX. Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust. 14: 65-193.

Ecology

Assumed larval feeding: fungus-feeder
Association with dead wood or old trees: at least facultatively saproxylic

Ecological attributes: — May occupy logs or trunks of Eucalyptus obliqua, at least temporarily, since found having emerged within a year of felling (Grove & Bashford, 2003) — May occupy logs or trunks of Eucalyptus obliqua, at least temporarily, since found having emerged within six years of felling (Grove et al., 2009).

Collection method(s) for TMAG material: — Emergence trapping from cut billets of Eucalyptus obliqua (Harrison, 2007) — Emergence trapping from log of Eucalyptus obliqua — Pipe trapping — Vane trapping.

Source ecological literature:
Grove, S.J. & Bashford, R. (2003). Beetle assemblages from the Warra log decay project: insights from the first year of sampling. Tasforests 14: 117-129.
Grove, S. et al. (2009). A long-term experimental study of saproxylic beetle … succession in Tasmanian Eucalyptus … logs… In: Fattorini, S. (Ed.), Insect Ecology and Conservation. Research Signpost, pp. 71-114.
Harrison, K.S. (2007). Saproxylic beetles associated with habitat features in Eucalyptus obliqua trees in the southern forests of Tasmania. PhD thesis, Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Tasmania, Hobart.

Cholevomorpha picta
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