Staphylininae Latreille, 1802

Berx, Peter, Bosmans, Bart, Dekoninck, Wouter, Janssen, Marc, Stassen, Eugène & Crevecoeur, Luc, 2023, Faunistic survey of myrmecophilous and other ant-associated beetles and spiders in the Belgian province of Limburg (Araneae, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Belgian Journal of Entomology 141, pp. 1-61 : 42-44

Staphylininae Latreille, 1802

The genus Quedius Stephens, 1829 is strongly represented in the surveyed area with 36 species. Quedius cruentus (8.0-10.0 mm) is the dominant species with 608 individuals dispersed over 66 grids, while Q. invreae (8.0-11.0 mm) and Q. maurus (6.0-9.0 mm) both with a single specimen in a single location are both reported as rare (Annex). They all are predators that seek easy prey in nests of both mammals and hymenoptera.

Ninety-two individuals of Platydracus stercorarius (Olivier, 1795) ( Fig. 35E ) have been found in 30 1 x 1 km squares, with 83 collected with pitfall traps (Annex). Platydracus stercorarius is an impressive rove beetle reaching 20 mm and is associated with Tetramorium caespitum , F. rufa and several species of the genus Myrmica and Lasius ( PÄIVINEN, 2002) . According to Donisthorpe (1927) this beetle penetrates the ant nests to feed on the ants and their brood. It is worth mentioning the fact that it is the only myrmecophilous beetle ever found in the nests of our rare slave-making Amazon ant Polyergus rufescens (Latreille, 1798) ( ANDRÉ, 1874, p. 213) . Two locations where this rove beetle has been observed, Hageven in Pelt and De Teut in Zonhoven, are two of the five areas in Belgium where likewise the rare Amazon ant is found ( DEKONINCK et al., 2001; VANKERKHOVEN et al., 2021).

Figures

Fig.35. A, Atrecus affinis (Paykull, 1789) (range 6.0-7.5mm). B, Gyrohypnus angustatus Stephens, 1833 (7.2 mm; range 6.0-8.5 mm). C, Hypnogyra angularis (Ganglbauer, 1895) (7.0mm; range 7.0-9.0mm). D, Othius subuliformis Stephens, 1833 (6.1 mm; range 4.5-7.2mm). E, Platydracus stercorarius (Olivier, 1795) (15.3 mm; range 13.0-18.0mm). © U. Schmidt.