Stephanopachys conicola Fisher (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) Feeding on Decaying Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis Hooker) Berries: A Novel Association for Bostrichidae
- Tonkel, Kirk C. [ Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit USDA — Agricultural Research Service ]
- Rector, Brian G. [ Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit USDA — Agricultural Research Service ]
- Longland, William S. [ Great Basin Rangelands Research Unit USDA — Agricultural Research Service ]
- Dimitri, Lindsay A. [ Department of Biology University of Nevada — Reno ]
- Ivie, Michael A. [ Montana State University: Plant Sciences & Plant Pathology ]
The surprise discovery of a rarely collected bostrichid living in juniper berries raises issues of bostrichid evolution, stored product pest pathways, and the ecology of juniper systems. As part of a study of Juniperus occidentalis Hooker (Cupressaceae), specimens of Stephanopachys conicola Fisher were reared from berries collected on the ground in California’s Modoc County. Some implications of this discovery, as related to the above issues, are considered in the following discussion.