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The Tasmanian Naturalist 139 (2017)
99
New distribution and foodplant observations
for several Coleoptera species in the
Tasmanian Central Highlands, Summer 2017
Karen Richards1 & Chris P. Spencer 2
1Threatened Species Section Department of Primary Industries,
Parks, Water and Environment
2141 Valley Road, Collinsvale, Tasmania 7012,
Email: karen.richards@dpipwe.tas.gov.au
As a continuation of our research into
the ecology of the Miena jewel beetle,
Castiarina insculpta Carter 1934 (Spencer
& Richards 2014, Richards & Spencer
2016) and that of Castiarina rudis Carter
1934, eight survey excursions to various
parts of the Central Highlands were
conducted between January and March
of 2017. While the principal focus
of the investigation was Buprestidae,
observations of species of Lucanidae
and Cerambycidae were also recorded.
The 2017 season again proved to be
supportive of the theory that the larval
cycle of C. insculpta is of two years
duration, with high numbers of the
beetles recorded. Castiarina insculpta
activity was evident from early January
(with owering just commencing) and
extended into March, making this the
most protracted active season so far
documented. Ozothamnus hookeri (scaly
everlastingbush) owering continued for
longer than previously observed, with
strong blossom persisting from mid-
January to early March.
New localities for C. insculpta were
conrmed in 2017 (Table 1). Two of the
locations, Gunns Marsh Road (Arthurs
Lake) and Waddamana Road were
visited by us in 2016, when potential
emergence holes were detected. Along
with these sites, Westons Road (Great
Lake), and Marlborough Highway all
constitute range extensions for the
species and collectively, increase the
extent of occurrence from 388 km2 in
2016 to 680 km2 (both gures exclude
Great Lake). At 840 m, the Marlborough
Hwy site is the lowest elevation where
C. insculpta has been located. In this
instance the animal was nestled deep
within the inorescence, but became
active when disturbed; the temperature
(9°C) is the lowest at which we have
recorded C. insculpta activity. While the
above sites have extended the range of
the species, it must be noted that the
population densities measured by beetle
and emergence hole presence at each of
these locations was found to be low.
Previously, we reported a new adult
food plant for C. insculpta (Richards
and Spencer 2016), and again this
year we recorded a female C. insculpta
on owering Baeckea gunniana (alpine
heathmyrtle). In this instance, the
The Tasmanian Naturalist 139 (2017)
100
shrub was surrounded by an ocean of
owering O. hookeri on the shore of Lake
Augusta, but no other buprestids were
present.
First visited by us in 2013, an outlying
population of O. hookeri, on the Lyell
Highway, was again investigated for C.
insculpta presence. At 720 m elevation,
this site is intriguing as a considerable area
(>1 hectare) of O. hookeri with numerous
emergence holes consistent in size and
shape with those attributed to C. insculpta
exist. Despite warm conditions and
bountiful blossom, the only buprestids
recorded were Castiarina wilsoni Saunders
1868, and these were in abundance. This
raises the question, are C. wilsoni at this
location utilising O. hookeri as the larval
food plant? The authors propose to
resolve this conundrum in the following
summer seasons; interestingly we have
never before recorded C. wilsoni adults
feeding on O. hookeri blossom.
Castiarina wilsoni is a native species
widespread in Tasmania, occurring
from sea level to the Central Plateau.
Cowie (2001) lists the adult food plants
as Helichrysum, Cassinia, Bursaria and
Leptospermum. In addition to these, the
authors have observed adults on a range
of plants including: O. hookeri, Baeckea,
Myoporum, Ozothamnus ericifolius, Lomatia,
Daucus (carrot), Allium (onion), Pastinaca
(parsnip) and Carum (caraway). The
larval food plant for C. wilsoni is not
currently known.
Across the survey period three additional
Castiarina species were observed on O.
hookeri blossom; C. thomsoni Saunders
1868, C. leai Carter 1916 and C. virginea
Erichson 1852. Single specimens of both
C. thomsoni and C. leai were recorded, the
former, a male, was the recipient of the
sexual advances of an amorous male
C. insculpta.
Castiarina thomsoni and C. leai are native
species, found across the eastern states,
and are common and widespread in
Tasmania, from coast to the Central
Highlands. Cowie (2001) lists Bursaria,
Helichrysum, Leptospermum and Cassinia
amongst the adult host plants for C.
thomsoni and Leptospermum, Olearia and
Baeckea for C. leai. The larval host plants
are unknown for either species. As a
result of our 2017 surveys, O. hookeri is
now recognised as an additional adult
food plant for each of these species.
Castiarina virginea is endemic to
Tasmania, belonging to the rectifasciata
group along with C. insculpta (Barker
2006). It has a wide distribution from
Hobart/Bruny Island to Port Latta and
occurs from sea level to alpine elevations
approaching 1000 m. The species is
patchy across its range and we are yet
to record more than two individuals in
any survey. The larval host plant is not
known, but adults have been taken on
Helichrysum, Cassinia and Bursaria (Cowie
2001). The authors have recorded adults
on O. hookeri, Baeckea gunniana, Epacris
petrophila, Leptospermum scoparium and L.
lanigerum adding to the list of adult food
plants.
Castiarina rudis Carter 1934 is another
Tasmanian endemic occurring across
much of the Central Highlands. Our
research has identied the larval host
plant for this species as Orites revolutus.
The Tasmanian Naturalist 139 (2017)
101
Date
Location
Species
Comments
7/01/17
Lake Ada
C. insculpta
C. rudis
C. virginea
2
c i
at Liawenee, both on buds with no flower
open.
1
c v
on Epacris petrophila.
Multiple
c r
active, mostly males.
27/01/17
Lake Ada
C. insculpta
8
c i
in 1 hour survey, 20° C
27/01/17
Liawenee
C. insculpta
C. thomsoni
>80
c i
20 minute survey, multiple males
attempting to mate, one mating a male
c t
, 24° C
27/01/17
Marlborough
Hwy
C. insculpta
24
c i
10 minute survey, 24° C
27/01/17
Skullbone
Plains
C. insculpta
30
c i
20 minute survey, 24° C
7/02/17
Liawenee
C. insculpta
C. virginea
49
c i
2 hour survey, sluggish but flying,
1
c v
on O. hookeri, 12° C
7/02/17
Tods Corner
(Great Lake)
C. insculpta
C. virginea
9
c i
35 minute survey,
1
c v
on O. hookeri, 14° C
7/02/17
Waddamana Rd
C. insculpta
1
c i
10 minute survey, 15° C (emergence holes
recorded 7/08/16).
14/02/17
Westons Rd
(Great Lake)
C. insculpta
C. rudis
2
c i
30 minute survey,
c r
emergence holes & larval activity, 14° C
14/02/17
Gunns Marsh
Rd (Arthurs
Lake)
C. insculpta
2
c i
30 minute survey, 13° C (area visited
22/01/16)
14/02/17
Tods Corner
(Great Lake)
C. insculpta
C. virginea
3
c i
20 minute survey,
1
c v
on O. hookeri, 14° C
15/02/17
Marlborough
Hwy (TLC
property)
C. insculpta
1
c i
20 minute survey, multiple emergence
holes, animal deep in blossom, elevation 840 m,
9° C
15/02/17
Lyell Hwy
C. wilsoni
Multiple
c w
30 minute survey, many emergence
holes, elevation 720 m,18° C
22/02/17
Lake Mackenzie
C. rudis
3 areas with considerable amounts of O. hookeri
were targeted, abundant flower available but no
c i
adults or emergence holes were located.
Emergence holes & larval activity of
c r
were
noted, 15° C
22/02/17
Liawenee
C. insculpta
8
c i
10 minute survey, 15° C
4/03/17
Tin Hut Track
C. insculpta
C. rudis
1
c i
15 minute surveys at 3 sites, all yielded
emergence holes.
Emergence holes & larval activity of
c r
were
noted, 20° C
4/03/17
Little Blue
Lagoon
C. virginea
1
c v
on B. gunniana blossom, 20 minute survey.
Multiple
c i
emergence holes in O. hookeri, 20° C
4/03/17
Carter Lakes
C. insculpta
3
c i
10 minute survey, 17° C
5/03/17
Lake Augusta
C. insculpta
C. rudis
3 locations not previously visited all yielded
emergence holes for
c i
&
c r
.
1
c i
found feeding on B. gunniana blossom in O.
hookeri-dominated vegetation. 16° C
5/03/17
Liawenee
C. insculpta
C. virginea
3
c i
10 minute survey.
1
c v
on O. hookeri, most flowers finished, 19° C
Table 1. Central Highland buprestid observations for 2017.
Note: c i = Castiarina insculpta, c r = C. rudis, c t = C. thomsoni, c v = C. virginea,
c w = C. wilsoni.
The Tasmanian Naturalist 139 (2017)
102
We have no records of adults feeding,
and although images exist of specimens
on Ozothamnus hookeri (Natalie Tapson
2012), our observations suggest activity
including mating is centred on O.
revolutus. Flowering of the host plant
occurs between December and early
January; however, adult C. rudis rst
become active in late January, making
it impossible for O. revolutus to be the
nectar source exploited by C. rudis.
Cowie (2001) lists C. rudis as occurring
at Lake Dobson and Lake St Clair with
an outlier at Wineglass Bay; and records
the host plant as Leptospermum spp
Barker (2006) lists the distribution as
Great Lake, Lake Dobson and Lake St
Clair. Thus far, no museum record for
C. rudis at Lake St Clair has been found,
but a record exists on the Atlas of Living
Australia (ALA) of a specimen collected
by F. Evans near Cradle Mt in 1964,
which may prove to be the record cited
as being from Lake St Clair.
The authors currently map the
distribution of C. rudis as Lake
Mackenzie, Lake Augusta, Carter
Lakes, Ada Lagoon, Lake Ada, Great
Lake, Arthurs Lake and Barren Tier.
The recent collection of a dead female
specimen in April 2017 at Ben Lomond
by eld naturalist Kristi Ellingsen may
shed some light on the Wineglass Bay
specimen, as this is the closest record
of C. rudis to date, and no records of
O. revolutus, the known larval host plant,
exist in the vicinity of Coles Bay on the
Natural Values Atlas (NVA). The nearest
location for C. rudis to Freycinet (NVA
data) is Mount Durham on the Nicholas
Range; however, the location description
for this record is Ben Lomond. Adult
C. rudis are very strong and fast yers and
given a tail wind it is not inconceivable
that a specimen may reach the coastline
from Ben Lomond and wash to the
Wineglass Bay collection site.
Plate 1. C. rudis in copula
The Tasmanian Naturalist 139 (2017)
103
Currently we do not know where on
the plant C. rudis oviposit but we have
observed multiple matings occurring
in the upper foliage of O. revolutus
(Plate 1). We note that the larvae of
C. rudis generally travel down the stem,
often to and below ground level, and
adults emerge from a typical “D-shaped”
hole usually within 30 cm of ground
level (Plate 2).
Larvae of the native cerambycid beetle
Uracanthus pallens Hope 1841 have also
been identied utilising O. revolutus,
at times occupying large stems which
also host a C. rudis larva. The nal
instar larvae of both species are of
similar dimensions; (approximately
40 mm in length); however, they are
readily differentiated using external
structures. The larva of C. rudis displays
a well-dened, sclerotized, “Y-shaped”
pronotal groove and undeveloped dorsal
ambulatory ampullae, whilst U. pallens
larva lack sclerotisation of the pronotal
groove, exhibit well developed glabrous
ambulatory ampullae, also possess
Plate 2. Female C. rudis emergence hole
legs and spiny processes on the 10th
abdominal segment (Plate 3).
Larvae of both beetle species are stem
borers and eject large quantities of
frass. Uracanthus pallens oviposit in the
upper branches of the host plant and
larva descend, hollowing out the stem
to approximately half its length, at this
point the stem is girdled (Plate 4), where
it breaks off and the larva remains
developing in the dying stem (K.M
Moore in Duffy 1963). Post-pupation,
adults exit the stem leaving a rounded-
oval shaped emergence hole.
We observed two adult specimens of
U. pallens at Carter Lakes in December
The Tasmanian Naturalist 139 (2017)
104
Plate 3. Comparative larval anatomy, Upper: Castiarina rudis dorsal view.
Lower: Uracanthus pallens dorsolateral view. Inserts: show structure of tenth
abdominal segments.
The Tasmanian Naturalist 139 (2017)
105
Plate 4. Girdled stem of Orites revolutus
Plate 5. U. pallens adult
The Tasmanian Naturalist 139 (2017)
106
2016 on Grevillea australis blossom. Adults
are known to feed on the blossom of
species of Angophora, Eucalyptus, Kunzea,
Leptospermum, Melaleuca and Xanthorrhoea,
while the larvae have been recorded
utilizing native species including Acacia,
Boronia, Banksia, Eucalyptus, Hakea and
Lomatia as well as exotic species such
as Litchi, Prunus (plum and apricot)
and Citrus (Thongphak & Wang
2007; Slipinski & Escalona 2016). We
successfully reared out specimens of
Uracanthus from ultimate instar larvae
occupying O. revolutus stems (Plate 5).
Although the imagines are consistent
with the description of U. pallens,
the larvae more closely resemble
those attributed by Duffy (1963) to
U. triangularis Hope 1833.
Our nal observation for the season
relates to the lucanid Lissotes obtusatus
Westwood 1838. Two dead female
Lissotes specimens were collected from
the Carter Lakes sand dunes in the
summer of 2015 and 2016 respectively;
however, positive identication of
most Lissotes species is based on male
characters (Lea 1910). Verication of
the species identity occurred in 2017
when we recorded a ne male L. obtusatus
crossing the Ada Lagoon track; this
record represents the highest elevation at
which we have observed this widespread
species. Lissotes obtusatus larvae are
generalists, occupying decaying wood
or the soil-wood interface. At this alpine
location wood of sufcient dimensions
to accommodate Lissotes larvae is in
very short supply, leaving us at a loss to
explain where the lengthy (>two years)
larval development occurs.
References
Barker, S. (2006). Castiarina Australia’s
richest jewel beetle genus. ABRS, Canberra.
Cowie, D (2001). Jewel Beetles of Tasmania:
A Field Naturalist’s Guide. Tasmanian
Field Naturalists Club, Hobart.
Duffy, E.A.J. (1963). A monograph of the
immature stages of Australasian timber
beetles (Cerambycidae). Trustees of the
British Museum, 1963.
Lea, A.M. (1910). Notes on the genus
Lissotes, with descriptions of new
species. Papers and Proceedings of the
Royal Society of Tasmania 1910: 346-366.
Natalie Tapson (2012) https://www.
flickr.com/photos/40325561@
N04/6816633816, accessed June 16
2017.
Richards, K. and Spencer, C.P. (2016).
Observations of Castiarina insculpta
(Miena jewel beetle) in 2016. The
Tasmanian Naturalist 138: 66-67.
Slipinski, A. and Escalona, H.E. (2016).
Australian Longhorn Beetles (Coleoptera:
Cerambycidae) Vol 2 Subfamily
Cerambycinae. CSIRO publishing,
Clayton South Victoria.
Spencer, C.P. and Richards, K. (2014).
Did Castiarina insculpta (Miena jewel
beetle) ride on the sheep’s back? The
Tasmanian Naturalist 136: 49-57.
Thongphak, D. and Wang, Q. (2007).
Taxonomic revision of the longicorn
beetle genus Uracanthus Hope
1833 (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae:
Cerambycinae: Uracanthini) from
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