Asperosoma echinatum, (FALL)

Anderson, Robert & Wright, Charles, 2015, Asperosoma echinatum (Fall) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Ceutorhynchinae): First Record from USA, The Coleopterists Bulletin 69 (2), pp. 272-273 : 272-273

ASPEROSOMA ECHINATUM (FALL) ( COLEOPTERA : CURCULIONIDAE : CEUTORHYNCHINAE ): FIRST RECORD FROM USA

ROBERT ANDERSON Research and Collections Canadian Museum of Nature PO Box 3443, Station D Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4, CANADA [e-mail]

AND

CHARLES WRIGHT 65 Springhill Rd. Frankfort, KY 40601, U.S.A. [e-mail]

Previously recorded only from Manitoba and Ontario, Canada, the ceutorhynchine weevil species Asperosoma echinatum (Fall) ( Figs. 1 – 2 ) is herein recorded from Harlan County, Kentucky, USA. This is the first record of this genus and species in the USA.

Originally described as Ceutorhynchus echinatus Fall, 1917 based on a series of specimens collected in Manitoba, Korotyaev (1999) placed the species in its own genus, Asperosoma Korotyaev, 1999 . Douglas et al. (2013) recorded it from Ontario and along with Anderson et al. (2014) noted it as a Canadian endemic, although both acknowledged that it may be more widely distributed than currently known.

The genus Asperosoma is a member of the tribe Scleropterini and is characterized easily among Ceutorhynchinae by an antennal funicle of six articles; pronotal tubercles small, obtuse; and elytra rounded, lacking humeri, with a distinct postscutellar patch of white scales, and with each interval with a row of sparse but large, pointed granules bearing fine, long, erect, curved hairs.

Here we provide the first record of the species from the USA as follows: USA: Kentucky, Harlan County, top of Black Mountain , 4130 ft. (1,260 m), 31 May 2008, Charles Wright, sweeping edge of road and in woods, ca. noon. (2 specimens; CMNC, Charles Wright personal collection). Approximate coordinates are 36.9144°, -82.8939 °.

Asperosoma echinatum has been associated with the native grassland forb Heuchera richardsoni R. Br. (Saxifragiaceae) ( Fall 1917). While H. richardsoni is not known to occur in Kentucky, the following species of Heuchera L. are recorded from the Cumberland Mountain region of Kentucky (of which Harlan County is a part) according to Browne and Athey (1992): H. americana L., H. longiflora Rydb. , H. parviflora Bartl. , H. pubescens Pursh , and H. villosa Michx. Heuchera americana is most likely the host in Kentucky since it is a common woodland species in the state, while the other species are not as common and are more restricted in their habitats.

Figures

Figs. 1–2. Asperosoma echinatum. 1) Lateral habitus; 2) Dorsal habitus.