History of Coleoptera collecting in New Brunswick, Canada: advancing our knowledge of the Coleoptera fauna in the early 21(st) century.

Reginald P Webster,Jan Klimaszewski,Patrice Bouchard,Jon D Sweeney

doi:10.3897/zookeys.573.8123

Abstract

The Coleoptera of New Brunswick have generated interest among entomologists for over a century. The first records of Coleoptera from New Brunswick were the adventive Carabus granulatus Linnaeus and Carabus nemoralis Muller collected by W.H. Harrington in Saint John during 1891 (Harrington 1892). The first significant sampling of Coleoptera, and insects in general in New Brunswick, was carried out by members of the Natural History Society of New Brunswick (now the New Brunswick Museum): William McIntosh, Phillip R. McIntosh, A. Gordon Leavitt, and George Morrisey, mostly between 1898 and 1909 (Fairweather and McAlpine 2011). Most of the material was obtained by William McIntosh and A. Gordon Leavitt, who made extensive collections around the Saint John area (Fairweather and McAlpine 2011). By 1914, there were over 24,000 specimens in the Natural History Society of New Brunswick insect holdings, most being Lepidoptera, with about 4,187 specimens of Coleoptera (McIntosh [undated A]). However, only 1,095 of these Coleoptera specimens were still present in the New Brunswick Museum (NBM) holdings in 2010, many apparently were either sent to other people or were lost to insect pests (Fairweather and McAlpine 2011). Among these specimens are the first occurrences of a number of adventive species to the Maritime provinces: Quedius mesomelinus (Marsham) (Staphylinidae) (Majka and Smetana 2007), Attagenus unicolor japonicas Reitter (Dermestidae) (Majka 2007a), Ernobius mollis (Linnaeus) (Ptiliidae) (Majka 2007a), Brachypera zoilus (Scopoli) (Curculionidae) (Majka et al. 2007b), and others, including many that were the first records for New Brunswick and the region.

Highlights

1 24 Mill Stream Drive, Charters Settlement, NB, Canada E3C 1X1 2 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6 3 Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service - Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du P.E.P.S., P.O
Still present in the New Brunswick Museum (NBM) holdings in 2010, many apparently were either sent to other people or were lost to insect pests (Fairweather and McAlpine 2011). Among these specimens are the first occurrences of a number of adventive species to the Maritime provinces: Quedius mesomelinus (Marsham) (Staphylinidae) (Majka and Smetana 2007), Attagenus unicolor japonicas Reitter (Dermestidae) (Majka 2007a), Ernobius mollis (Linnaeus) (Ptiliidae) (Majka 2007a), Brachypera zoilus (Scopoli) (Curculionidae) (Majka et al 2007b), and others, including many that were the first records for New Brunswick and the region
Another significant source of Coleoptera specimens was the Forest Insect and Disease Survey (FIDS) of the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) in Fredericton. This survey began in 1936 and was discontinued in 1996. Most of these specimens are in the collection at the Atlantic Forestry Centre (AFC) in Fredericton and the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes (CNC) in Ottawa

Summary

Introduction

1 24 Mill Stream Drive, Charters Settlement, NB, Canada E3C 1X1 2 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids and Nematodes, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0C6 3 Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service - Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du P.E.P.S., P.O. Many of the records from the above collections and surveys were included in the first Checklist of the beetles of Canada and Alaska, where 1,365 species were reported as occurring in New Brunswick (Bousquet 1991).

Results

Conclusion