Chrysobothris piuta Wickham, 1903

Westcott, Richard L., 2023, New host and distribution records plus additional notes for North American species of Chrysobothris Eschscholtz (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), with designation of a lectotype for Chrysobothris vulcanica LeConte, 1861, Insecta Mundi 2023 (967), pp. 1-10 : 6

Chrysobothris piuta Wickham, 1903

One specimen, IDAHO, Cassia Co., Malta, 6-VI-1969, W. F. Barr, WFBM. MEXICO, BAJA CALIFORNIA, Sierra Juárez, Laguna Hanson, 1600–1650 m, 26-V-89, beaten from Cercocarpus betuloides Nutt., R. L. Westcott, RLWE. The latter is the southernmost known occurrence for this beetle. I ( Westcott 1990) recorded the northernmost record, from Madison Co., Montana, also based on a single specimen. That record has been disputed by M. A. Ivie (personal communication), in my opinion for no good reason. He questions its occurrence so far north, and said that the specimen had been lost, thus its occurrence in Montana must be confirmed. However, according to Alexey Tishechkin (personal communication) the specimen is in CSCA and matches perfectly with others of this species in the collection. Previously, the northern record was Reno, Nevada ( Fisher 1942). The Idaho record bridges the gap and is about 200 miles southwest of the Montana site. The only recorded larval host for C. piuta is C. montanus ( MacRae and Nelson 2003) . That plant is known in Montana only from small areas in the SE; however, C. ledifolius is common and widespread in the SW ( Montana Field Guide 2022). Adults have been collected on the latter plant and those in several other genera of Rosaceae . The beetle is known also from Arizona, California, and Utah.