Abstract
An annotated checklist of the jewel beetles (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) of Doña Ana County, New Mexico is provided. Records compiled from museum specimens, available literature, and field collections yielded 79 species representing 21 genera and 4 subfamilies. The greatest number of species were recorded from the subfamilies Polycestinae (31 species) and Buprestinae (25 species). Acmaeodera yuccavora Knull (Polycestinae) and Agrilus fisherellus Obenberger (Agrilinae) represent two new state records in New Mexico.
The family Buprestidae (Coleoptera), commonly known as jewel beetles or metallic wood-boring beetles, is represented in North America by over 760 species (Arnett et al. 2002). Most species attack stressed or weakened live or recently dead trees (Evans et al. 2004) or are leaf miners (Bright 1987). The larvae of a few native species cause serious damage to healthy trees (Furniss and Carolin 1977) by burrowing and girdling the phloem. The invasive emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, has killed millions of ash trees in North America with estimated economic damage in the billions of dollars (Kovacs et al. 2010).
Despite the economic impact of this family, little information is available for the species that may occur in New Mexico. Most published records of buprestids for the state are extremely dated, and none target this family specifically for New Mexico. Published lists that contain beetles of the state include Townsend (1895), which incorporates records from Townsend (1893), and Fall and Cockerell (1907). Chamberlin (1926) catalogued the Buprestidae of North America, but with numerous errors. Published reports on genera or species found in Doña Ana County include a synopsis of Acmaeodera (Fall 1899), a revision of Paratyndaris (Nelson and Bellamy 2004), and descriptions of Chrysobothris ephedraeKnull (1942) and the C. femorata complex Eschscholtz (Wellso and Manley 2007).
We chose Doña Ana County, New Mexico to create this checklist for multiple reasons, including available collection data, plant biodiversity, size, and physical geography. Specifically, the county includes some of the most extensive collection data for buprestids in the state. It also was the location for extensive collecting by both C.H.T. Townsend and T.D.A. Cockerell (see above), both of whom worked in Las Cruces, and is the location of the New Mexico State University (NMSU) Arthropod Collection. In addition, the Organ Mountains and San Andreas Mountains are considered to be “outstanding” areas of plant biodiversity, with high numbers of endemic species (Energy Minerals and Natural Resources [EMNRD] 2017). Due to this high biodiversity, the Organ Mountains have served as a site for several checklists of various taxa in the past (e.g., Lewis 1950; Stark and Castetter 1982; Metcalf 1984). We believe that this is the first attempt to compile a detailed checklist of buprestid fauna in the southwestern United States. This compilation should encourage others to survey areas of high biodiversity in the Southwest.
The county, which lies in south-central New Mexico, bordering Texas and Mexico to the south, is the second largest county in the state (∼9,878 km2) (Anonymous 2019), making it larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware (Misachi 2021). It forms part of the Mexican Highlands Section of the Basin and Range Physiographic Province (Julyan 2006) and is extremely diverse in physical geography and vegetation. Agricultural lowlands of the Rio Grande Valley divide the county roughly in half from northwest to southeast. West of the river lie sand dunes, the poorly collected volcanic and sedimentary Potrillos and Sierra de las Uvas ranges, and the sedimentary Robledo Mountains; east of the river are the inaccessible, poorly collected San Andreas Mountains of the White Sands Missile Range and the rugged granitic peaks and dolomite hills of the Organ Mountains (Chronic 1987; Seager and Mack 1994; Julyan 2006). Las Cruces, New Mexico's second largest city, lies between the Rio Grande and the Organ Mountains.
Materials and Methods
Data for each species are based on records compiled from museum specimens, records in the literature, and field collections. Collection data were taken from adult museum specimens in the New Mexico State University Arthropod Collection in Las Cruces, the University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology Arthropod Collection in Albuquerque, and online records from the Symbiota Collections of Arthropods Network. Identifications were made by J.W.D and W.P.S. Additional species records, dates, and plant data were obtained by beating, sweep netting, and hand collecting during field surveys by J.W.D. in 2019, 2020, and 2021. When multiple collection dates were available for a species, a range of collection dates was provided based on the earliest and latest collection dates. Species were listed alphabetically within subfamily to facilitate use of the list. We followed the nomenclature of Nelson et al. (2008).
Results
Presented herein is an annotated checklist of the Buprestidae of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, consisting of a total of 79 species reported from Doña Ana County, New Mexico, with two new state records.
Checklist of Buprestidae of Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Subfamily Agrilinae
Agrilus addendus Crotch
Collection dates: Unknown.
Note: A record from Fall and Cockerell (1907) is included here.
Agrilus aureus Chevrolat
Collection date: 6 October 1973.
Agrilus egenus Gory
Collection date: 27 June 2020.
Plant associations: Adults on Robinia neomexicana A. Gray.
Agrilus felix Horn
Collection dates: 25 April through 23 May.
Plant associations: Adults on Vachellia constricta (Benth.) Seigler & Ebenger, and Sphaeralcea sp. Augustin Saint-Hilaire.
Agrilus fisherellus Obenberger
Collection date: 9 July 1981.
Note: New state record.
Agrilus gibbicollis Fall
Collection dates: 22 May through 26 August.
Plant associations: Adults on Gutierrezia sarothrae (Pursh.) Britt. & Rusby and Gutierrezia sp. Lagasca.
Agrilus lacustris LeConte
Collection date: 13 August 1962.
Agrilus lecontei celticola Fisher
Collection dates: 15 June through 24 June.
Plant associations: Four adults on Celtis reticulata John Torrey.
Agrilus malvastri Fisher
Collection date: 28 August.
Note: Fisher (1928) reported this species from Mesilla.
Agrilus paraimpexus Hespenheide
Collection dates: 26–27 August 1997.
Note: A record from Hespenheide (2007) is included here.
Agrilus pectoralis Waterhouse
Collection dates: 24 May through 17 June.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa John Torrey and Quercus sp. L.
Agrilus pulchellus Bland
Collection dates: 21 June through 11 October.
Brachys querci Knull
Collection dates: 25 May through 8 June.
Plant associations: Adults on Quercus gambelii Nuttal and Quercus sp.
Note: This species is likely restricted to oaks in the Organ Mountains.
Brachys rileyi Hespenheide
Collection date: 27 June 2020.
Plant associations: Adults on Quercus gambelii, which occurs only at higher elevations of the Organ Mountains.
Taphrocerus chevrolati Obenberger
Collection date: 11 July 1999.
Plant associations: Adults on “Convolvulus.”
Subfamily Buprestinae
Actenodes mendax Horn
Collection date: 22 July 2019.
Agaeocera gentilis (Horn)
Collection date: 16 September 1978.
Agrilaxia arizonae (Obenberger)
Collection date: 27 June 2020.
Plant associations: Adults on Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson.
Anthaxia (Melanthaxia Richter) sp.
Collection date: 5 August 1995.
Note: Western members of this group often cannot be determined with confidence.
Chrysobothris acaciae Knull
Collection dates: 2 June through 2 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Acacia sp. Phillip Miller and Prosopis glandulosa.
Chrysobothris adelpha Harold
Collection date: 5 May 1985.
Chrysobothris c.f. analis Horn
Collection dates: 7 June through 22 June.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa and “in a house.”
Note: We have three female specimens that appear similar to C. analis, but we are not certain they are that species. Additional collection and examination of male genitalia will be required for positive determination.
Chrysobothris atabalipa Laporte & Gory
Collection dates: Unknown.
Note: A record from Fall and Cockerell (1907) is included here. This species was part of a Nelson's (1975) revision of the Chrysobothris basalis LeConte group. Since the revision, C. atabalipa is restricted to the southern portions of Mexico and into Central America. U.S. species in this group include C. basalis, which has yet to be recorded in New Mexico, C. octocola LeConte, a common species throughout the desert Southwest, and C. knulli Nelson, a species found in Arizona and the westernmost portions of New Mexico. This atabalipa record likely represents C. octocola.
Chrysobothris caddo Wellso & Manley
Collection dates: 2 June through 12 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Celtis reticulata.
Note: Records from Wellso and Manley (2007) are included here.
Chrysobothris culbersoniana Knull
Collection date: 21 May 2021.
Plant associations: Adults on Mimosa aculeaticarpa Ortega.
Chrysobothris debilis LeConte
Collection date: 13 May.
Note: Records from Fall and Cockerell (1907) and Townsend (1895) are included here.
Chrysobothris edwardsii Horn
Collection date: 10 June 2020.
Plant associations: One adult on Acacia sp., one dead adult in Fouquieria splendens Engelm.
Chrysobothris ephedrae ephedrae Knull
Collection date: 12 May 1941.
Plant associations: Ephedra sp. L.
Note: A record from Knull (1942) is included here.
Chrysobothris exesa LeConte
Collection dates: 9 April 2020 and 14 April 2020.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa.
Note: These are the first records we could find for the county since Fall and Cockerell (1907).
Chrysobothris humilis Horn
Collection date: May 1983.
Chrysobothris lateralis Waterhouse
Collection dates: 4 April through 14 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa, Parkinsonia aculeata L., and Acacia sp.
Chrysobothris merkelii Horn
Collection dates: 9 April through 19 August. Plant associations: Adults on Parkinsonia aculeata, Prosopis glandulosa, Acacia sp., “Palo Verde” and “cotton.”
Chrysobothris octocola LeConte
Collection dates: 17 March through 24 October.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa.
Chrysobothris purpureovittata purpureovittata Horn
Collection dates: 21 May through 21 June.
Plant associations: Adults on Celtis reticulata, Fallugia paradoxa (D. Don) Endl. ex Torr. and “Apache Plume.”
Chrysobothris rossi Van Dyke
Collection dates: 3 April through 20 June.
Plant associations: Adults and larvae on Parkinsonia aculeata, adults also on Acacia sp. and Prosopis glandulosa.
Chrysobothris texana LeConte
Collection date: 25 August 1995.
Chrysobothris viridiceps Melsheimer
Collection date: Dead adult collected 27 Feb 2020.
Plant associations: One dead adult in Quercus sp.
Knowltonia atrifasciata (LeConte)
Collection dates: 4 June 2020 and 3 June 2021.
Plant associations: Adults on Ephedra trifurca Torrey ex. S. Watson and Atriplex canescens (Pursh.) Nutt.
Melanophila acuminata (DeGeer)
Collection dates: Unknown.
Note: A “Mesilla Valley” record in Fall and Cockerell (1907) is included here.
Sphaerobothris ulkei (LeConte)
Collection dates: 7 September through 18 September.
Plant associations: Adults on Ephedra trifurca.
Subfamily Chrysochroinae
Dicerca tenebrica (Kirby)
Collection dates: Unknown.
Note: A single “Mesilla Valley” specimen from Fall and Cockerell (1907), reported as Dicerca prolongata LeConte, is included here.
Gyascutus caelatus (LeConte)
Collection dates: 11 July through 28 September.
Plant associations: Adults on Acacia sp. and Vachellia vernicosa (Britton & Rose) Seigler & Ebinger.
Gyascutus carolinensis (Horn)
Collection dates: 16 June through 2 August.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa.
Gyascutus planicosta (LeConte)
Collection dates: 27 June through July 20.
Plant associations: Adults on Larrea tridentata (DC.) Coville and Vachellia vernicosa.
Hippomelas sphenicus (LeConte)
Collection date: 10 October 2018.
Plant associations: “Mesquite.”
Lampetis drummondi Laporte & Gory
Collection dates: 1 May through 20 October.
Plant associations: Adults on Acacia sp., Chilopsis sp. David Don, Salix sp. L.
Lampetis webbii (LeConte)
Collection dates: 6 August through 5 September.
Plant associations: Adults on Acacia sp.
Note: A record from Fall and Cockerell (1907) is included here.
Poecilonota cyanipes (Say)
Collection date: September 1960.
Subfamily Polycestinae
Acmaeodera amabilis Horn
Collection date: 3 October 1927.
Note: This primarily montane species (Westcott et al. 1979) is represented by one specimen.
Acmaeodera amplicollis LeConte
Collection dates: 10 August through 8 October.
Plant associations: Adults on “flowers.”
Acmaeodera bowditchi Fall
Collection dates: 2 May through 28 June.
Plant associations: Adults on composite flowers and Sphaeralcea sp.
Acmaeodera cribricollis Fall
Collection dates: 4 June through 7 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Larrea tridentata.
Acmaeodera decipiens LeConte
Collection dates: 28 October 2006.
Note: This high-elevation montane species (Westcott et. al 1979) is represented by one specimen in the NMSU collection that was either mislabeled as to locality or was accidentally transported to the low desert site south of Las Cruces where it was reportedly collected. Chamberlin (1926) reported a record from early May, which we also consider doubtful. We can find no reliable records anywhere that date earlier than mid-June, and Chamberlin (1926) gives the season as “June-October.”
Acmaeodera delumbis Horn
Collection dates: 24 May through 23 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa, Prosopis sp. L. (Westcott et al. 1979), and Acacia sp.
Acmaeodera disjuncta Fall
Collection dates: 23 August through 8 November.
Plant associations: Adults on “flowers.”
Acmaeodera flavopicta Waterhouse
Collection dates: 20 August through 28 September.
Plant associations: Adults on “flowers.”
Acmaeodera gibbula LeConte
Collection dates: 15 July through 21 September.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa, P. pubescens Benth., Vachellia constricta, V. vernicosa, and “flowers.”
Acmaeodera ligulata Cazier
Collection date: 7 June 2019.
Plant associations: Adults on flowers of Opuntia Philip Miller.
Note: The presence of this species is represented by two individuals collected by the first author.
Acmaeodera maculifera Horn
Collection dates: 6 September through 26 October.
Plant associations: Adults on “flowers.”
Note: A record from Fall (1899) is included here.
Acmaeodera mima Gory
Collection date: 23 May.
Note: Townsend (1895) reported this species from Soledad Canyon on thistle stating that it looked much like Acmaeodera pulchella (Herbst), which he also reported finding on thistle in Soledad Canyon on the same date. Acmaeodera mima is considered a Mexican species, and no known specimens of this species have been collected in the United States (Barr 1975). Acmaeodera pulchella is also not recorded in the desert southwest in the United States (Barr 1975), so we suspect these were both misidentifications of A. mixta LeConte.
Acmaeodera mixta LeConte
Collection dates: 1 May through 15 September.
Plant associations: Adults on flowers of Prosopis glandulosa.
Acmaeodera parkeri Cazier
Collection dates: 10 August through 12 September.
Plant associations: Adults on Fallugia paradoxa and Stephanomeria sp. Nuttall.
Acmaeodera pulchella (Herbst)
Collection dates: Unknown.
Note: Fall and Cockerell (1907) reported this species in error. It does not occur in the southwestern U.S. (Barr 1975). See also A. mima.
Acmaeodera purshiae Fisher
Collection dates: Unknown.
Note: Chamberlin (1926) reported this species from Mesilla Valley and Soledad Canyon in the Organ Mountains, citing unspecified “writings of Prof. T.D.A. Cockerell.” It has not been collected since. There is a disjunct but reliable old record of the known host plant Purshia tridentata (Pursh) de Candolle from 1930 in the Organ Mountains, so we consider these two A. purshiae records questionable, but possible.
Acmaeodera quadrivittatoides Nelson & Westcott
Collection dates: 2 May through 20 August.
Plant associations: Adults on composite flowers.
Acmaeodera recticollis Fall
Collection dates: 4 May through 13 June.
Plant associations: Adults on Ephedra trifurca, and Acacia sp.
Acmaeodera rubronotata Laporte & Gory
Collection dates: 17 July through September 8.
Plant associations: Adults on “flowers.”
Acmaeodera scalaris Mannerheim
Collection dates: 20 August through 1 November.
Plant associations: Adults on “flowers.”
Note: A record from Fall (1899) is included here.
Acmaeodera tubulus (F.)
Collection dates: Unknown
Note: A record from Fall and Cockerell (1907) is included here. Townsend (1895) lists this species from Doña Ana County as Acmaeodera culta (Weber) but describes Dasylirion wheeleri S. Watson ex Rothrock as its host. Because the known hosts for A. tubulus do not include D. wheeleri, this record is doubtful. Westcott et al. (1979) suggest that Chamberlin (1926) was mistakenly referring to A. yuccavora Knull when he reported D. wheeleri as a host for A. tubulus. This probably also applies to Townsend's (1895) observations of A. culta. It is also uncertain whether the record by Fall and Cockerell (1907) was referring to A. tubulus or A. yuccavora.
Acmaeodera variegata LeConte
Collection dates: 13 May through 8 June.
Plant associations: Adults on Sphaeralcea sp.
Acmaeodera yuccavora Knull
Collection dates: 21 June 2009 and 12 September 2019.
Plant associations: Adults on composite flowers and on “Mesquite.”
Note: New state record. This species is represented by two specimens collected at the same locality.
Acmaeoderopsis hulli (Knull)
Collection dates: 24 May through 10 July.
Plant associations: Acacia sp., Condalia warnockii M. C. Johnston, Larrea tridentata, Prosopis glandulosa, and Vachellia constricta.
Acmaeoderopsis junki (Thery)
Collection dates: 15 May through 5 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Prosopis glandulosa.
Acmaeoderopsis rockefelleri (Cazier)
Collection dates: 10 June through 2 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Acacia sp., Atriplex canescens, and Vachellia vernicosa.
Chrysophana placida (LeConte)
Collection date: 21 July 1982.
Paratyndaris acaciae Knull
Collection dates: 1 June through 13 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Acacia sp., Atriplex canescens, Mimosa aculeaticarpa, Mimosa sp. L., Prosopis glandulosa, Quercus sp., and Vachellia constricta.
Note: A record from Nelson and Bellamy (2004) is included here.
Polycesta arizonica Schaeffer
Collection dates: 24 June through 7 July.
Plant associations: Adults on Juniperus sp. L., Quercus arizonica Charles Sprague Sargent, Quercus gambelii, and Vachellia constricta.
Thrincopyge alacris LeConte
Collection dates: 8 February through 2 September.
Plant associations: Adults on Dasylirion wheeleri.
Thrincopyge ambiens (LeConte)
Collection dates: 29 February through 19 April.
Plant associations: Adults on Dasylirion wheeleri.
Discussion
A total of 79 species of jewel beetle are recorded from Doña Ana County, New Mexico, 73 of which we consider reliable. We consider six species questionable or doubtful, including Chrysobothris atabalipa, Acmaeodera decipiens, A. mima, A. pulchella, A. purshiae, and A. tubulus. Their presence in Doña Ana County would have to be confirmed through additional collecting. Seventy-three species still represents considerable diversity for a single county; a recent checklist for Louisiana reported only 110 species of jewel beetle for the entire state (Carlton et al. 2018).
Polycestinae is the most speciose subfamily recorded here, with a total of 31 species. Following Polycestinae is Buprestinae with 25 species, Agrilinae with 15 species, and Chrysochroinae with 8 species. The most speciose genus recorded from Doña Ana County is Acmaeodera, with 22 total species. Other common genera include Chrysobothris with 18 species and Agrilus with 12 species. We expect these numbers will increase with additional collecting in the county.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We thank Rick Westcott (Oregon Department of Agriculture) for his identification of several specimens and feedback on some of the questionable records.
