[NatureNS] Featherwing Beetle

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From: c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:37:34 -0300
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Hi Dave et al.!

On 20-Oct-07, at 4:36 PM, David & Alison Webster wrote:

> Dear All,            Oct 20, 2007
>    I found  Featherwing Beetles (Ptiliidae; about 1-mm long; new to =20=

> me) on Oct 11 and this being, after the warm rain, a time when =20
> things might be active I looked for and found several more today.

Fabulous beetles aren't they? ;-> What habitat are you finding them in?

>    To see the impressive feathery hind wing, I removed one elytron =20
> and teased out a hind wing in water. A trace of detergent causes =20
> the hairs to splay out. The fully expanded hind wing is about 3 =20
> times as long as the elytron and folded in 2 places. What a design.

Those who are interested in seeing what these look like are welcome =20
to look at the following photographs which I've taken of three =20
different species of ptiliids from Nova Scotia:

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Acrotrichis_sp-1.jpg
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Acrotrichis_sp-4.jpg
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Pteryx_sp-3.jpg

The genus Acrotrichis, which is both the most abundant and the most =20
species-rich (with 19 species in the Maritime Provinces) is =20
fiendishly difficult in terms of species identification - certainly =20
one of the most difficult genera of beetles in Canada. There is, in =20
fact, only one person in the world who can do this, Mikael S=F6rensson =20=

of the University of Lund in Sweden, and there are presently no keys =20
to this genus in North America, although Mikael is working on a =20
revision of the genus which will include this.

Those who would like to know more about ptiliids in the region are =20
welcome to read our paper:

Majka, C.G. and S=F6rensson, M. 2007. The Ptiliidae of the Maritime =20
Provinces of Canada (Coleoptera): new records and bionomic notes. =20
Zootaxa, 1423: 27-38.

A copy of which is available at:

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/Maritime_Ptiliidae.pdf

Its a fairly dense scientific read but we will also have a chapter on =20=

this family in the forthcoming Atlantic Maritime Ecozone book (due =20
from NRC Press in mid-2008).

Also, there is a web page on one particularly fascinating ptiliid, =20
Cylindroselloides dybasi Hall, which at 0.6 mm in length is the =20
smallest beetle in the Maritime Provinces. It lives in the pores of =20
polypores and is quite abundant in the Maritimes. If you have =20
conifers with polypores in your area, these beetles are probably =20
there, although you will need a hand lens in order to see them! :-> =20
The page is located at:

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Cylindroselloides_dybasi.html

>    By the looks of it, this beetle should be easily able to float =20
> on a rising column of warm air and I wonder if in fact they can do =20
> this.

We actually discuss this in our AME chapter, since some authors (i.e. =20=

Pringle 1957) have suggested that the beetles move around through =20
passive flotation in the manner of dandelion seeds. However, this is =20
an erroneous notion, as one can easily observe directed flight =20
behavior in various situations, for instance in searching for their =20
ephemeral breeding sites such as dung, compost, and decomposing =20
fungi. Despite their tiny size, and unusual wings, they can fly with =20
the same (or even better) facility as many other species of beetles.

Cheers!

Chris
_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.=20=

_.
Christopher Majka - Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History
1747 Summer Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada  B3H 3A6
(902) 424-6435   Email <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca>
_._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.=20=

_.


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<html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; =
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">
Hi Dave et al.!<div><br><div><div>On 20-Oct-07, at 4:36 PM, David &amp; =
Alison Webster wrote:</div><br =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px; ">Dear All,<span class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 =A0=
 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 </span>Oct 20, 2007</div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; =
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0=A0 </span>I found<span =
class=3D"Apple-converted-space">=A0 </span>Featherwing Beetles =
(Ptiliidae; about 1-mm long; new to me) on Oct 11 and this being, after =
the warm rain, a time when things might be active I looked for and found =
several more today.</div></blockquote><div><br =
class=3D"webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Fabulous beetles aren't =
they? ;-&gt; What habitat are you finding them in?</div><br><blockquote =
type=3D"cite"><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; min-height: 14px; "><span =
class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"-webkit-text-stroke-width: -1; =
">=A0=A0=A0To see the impressive feathery hind wing, I removed one =
elytron and teased out a hind wing in water. A trace of detergent causes =
the hairs to splay out. The fully expanded hind wing is about 3 times as =
long as the elytron and folded in 2 places. What a =
design.</span></div></blockquote><div><br =
class=3D"webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>Those who are interested =
in seeing what these look like are welcome to look at the following =
photographs which I've taken of three different species of ptiliids from =
Nova Scotia:</div><div><br =
class=3D"webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><a =
href=3D"http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Acrotrichis_sp-1=
.jpg">http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Acrotrichis_sp-1.j=
pg</a></div><div><a =
href=3D"http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Acrotrichis_sp-4=
.jpg">http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Acrotrichis_sp-4.j=
pg</a></div><div><a =
href=3D"http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Pteryx_sp-3.jpg"=
>http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/Images4/Pteryx_sp-3.jpg</a></di=
v><div><br class=3D"webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div>The genus =
<i>Acrotrichis</i>, which is both the most abundant and the most =
species-rich (with 19 species in the Maritime Provinces) is fiendishly =
difficult in terms of species identification - certainly one of the most =
difficult genera of beetles in Canada. There is, in fact, only one =
person in the world who