Eleodes granulatus LeConte, 1857

Triplehorn, Charles A. & Thomas, Donald B., 2015, A Revision of Eleodes Subgenus Litheleodes Blaisdell (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), The Coleopterists Bulletin (mo 14) 69, pp. 11-21 : 18-19

Eleodes granulatus LeConte, 1857

( Fig. 10 , Map 2 )

Eleodes granulata LeConte 1857: 50 . Eleodes obtusa LeConte 1861: 352 . Eleodes (Eleodes) granulata: Horn 1870: 309 . Eleodes (Litheleodes) granulata forma obtusa :

Blaisdell 1909: 131. Eleodes (Litheleodes) letcheri vandykei Blaisdell

1909: 136. Eleodes vandykei: Blaisdell 1918: 384 . Eleodes vandykei modificata Blaisdell 1921b: 131 . Eleodes vandykei similis Blaisdell 1942: 142 . Eleodes similis: Boddy 1965: 152 . Eleodes granulata modificata: Boddy 1965: 153 . Eleodes granulata vandykei: Boddy 1965: 153 .

Diagnosis. Body elongate, narrowed between pronotum and elytron. Pronotum widest at middle, slightly wider than long; lateral margin arcuate in dorsal view, somewhat constricted basally; angles obtuse. Prosternal process acute. Probasitarsomeres of male with pencil of dark setae; obsolete in female. Dorsal plate of female second valvifer oblong, the posterior margin strongly slanting to apex; gonostyle large, roundly triangular.

Typically, the elytra are finely, longitudinally, subserially muricate. There is much variation in populations from those in which the muricate elevations are well separated on a dull background ( obtusa form) to some which approach E. corvinus with large muricate elevations tending to coalesce ( modificata form). We cannot relate the variation geographically, nor does it appear to be clinal. There is not enough ecological information accompanying specimens to investigate possible differences related to altitude or any other physical factors.

Measurements. Males: length 14.2–17.2 mm; width 5.5–6.5 mm. Females: length 16–17.5 mm; width 7.0– 7.2 mm.

Types. Eleodes granulata : holotype ( MCZC No. 4607), Oregon. Eleodes obtusa : holotype ( MCZC No. 4608), eastern California desert region. Eleodes vandykei : holotype, female ( CASC No. 2827) and allotype, male ( CASC No. 2828), Modoc Co., California , E. C. Van Dyke. Eleodes similis : holotype, male ( CASC No. 5284) and allotype female ( CASC No. 5285), Haines , Oregon , 20 April 1941, K. M. Fender. Eleodes modificata : not seen, Vernon , British Columbia .

Material Examined. 150+ specimens from the following localities: CANADA: British Columbia: Aspen Grove, Frasier River, Mt. Koban , Nicola Lake , Oliver, Osoyoos, Vavenby, Vernon. USA: California: 3 mi. N Boca, Halleluja Junction (Lassen Co.) , Newell, Badger and Porterville (Tulare Co.), Fayne Ranch ( Modoc Co. ), Victorville , Death Valley , ( San Bernardino Co. ), E side Marble Mt. ( Siskiyou Co. ), Mt. Bancroft , White Mts. Patriarch Grove, Lone Pine ( Inyo Co. ), Sagehen Creek (Nevada Co.), Sweetwater Mts. ( Mono Co. ), 5 mi. W Tule Lake ( Modoc Co. ) . Colorado: Colorado Nat. Mon., Gateway. Nevada: Peavine (Nye Co); Truckee Meadows (Washoe Co.); Silver Peak Range ( Esmeralda Co. ). Oregon: Arlington , Boardman , Bonanza , The Dalles , Haines , Klamath Falls ( Harney Co. ). Idaho: Felt. Utah: Escalante , Hell’ s Backbone , Dixie Nat. For. ( Garfield Co. ), Henriville , Logan Canyon , Sand Creek ). Washington: Govan ( Lincoln Co. ), Grand Coulee ( Kittitas Co. ), Lake McElroy ( Adams Co. ), Lind , 10 mi. NW Richland, Lamont , Ritzville , Spokane , Sprague , Wenatchee , Wilbur.

Distribution. The typical form is listed by Boddy (1965) as common in eastern Washington. We have seen large series from near Richland, Benton County, Washington ( Map 2 ). Specimens from British Columbia tend to be ‘more strongly sculptured ( modificata form) and those from Inyo County, California are of the obtusa form.

Remarks. As can be seen by the above synonymy, there has been little agreement on the taxonomic status of the names. Horn (1870) placed E. obtusa and E. aspera as synonyms of E. granulata . Blaisdell’ s concept changed a number of times over the years as he struggled with the group. Our own conclusions are closest to those of Boddy (1965), who stated that “ vandykei appears to be synonymous with granulata , ” although he did recognize E. similis as a valid species. We regard the above names to represent a single, somewhat polymorphic species.

Sheldon and Rogers (1984) found E. granulatus in sagebrush communities with greatest abundance in March. It has also been reported to be an important pest of wheat and corn (Hyslop 1912).

Figures

Figs. 5–10. Litheleodes species, dorsal habitus. 5) E. asperus ♀; 6) E. arcuatus ♂; 7) E. arcuatus ♀; 8) E. corvinus

Maps 1–5. Distributional records for Eleodes species. 1) E. arcuatus; 2) E. asperus and E. granulatus; 3) E. corvinus, E. hirtipennis, and E. subtuberculatus; 4) E. extricatus; 5) E. letcheri and E. papillosus.