Euetheola rugiceps (LeConte, 1856) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae)

Euetheola rugiceps (LeConte, 1856)
Ligyrus rugiceps LeConte, 1856 (original combination).
Euetheola humilis Burmeister, 1847 (synonym).

Euetheola rugiceps.jpg

Comment: E. rugiceps (LeConte) is known to occur southeastern US and keep spreading upward to midwest states. I personally collected couple of specimens in southern Nebraska, 2014. Very common in down south. They are mostly active in between May-June to August. I have experience of collecting more than a hundred specimen in a single night with a small battery-operated blacklight within an hour. This species do not show a sexual dimorphism, therefore, genitalia must be extracted to determine the sex. In my personal collections from Shreveport, LA and Alexandria, LA, there were whole lot more females than males collected.

*Image of aedeagus will be updated in near future.

2 replies to “Euetheola rugiceps (LeConte, 1856) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae)

  1. The common name of this scarab beetle is “sugarcane beetle” and the grubs are considered a pest of various crops in southern North America. The correct scientific name is “Euetheola humilis” and “Euetheola rugiceps” is a synonym of that name.

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    1. Here’s an updated reply to your comment:
      Here’s the nomenclature discussed in very recent publication.

      According to Ratcliffe and Cave (2017), with more detailed examination of USA specimens, the E. rugiceps is a good species and not a synonym of E. humilis. LeConte (1856) described Ligyrus rugiceps based on two specimens from Georgia missing their abdomens and indicated how they were different from Tomarus relictus. Endrödi (1969) placed E. rugiceps as a southern USA subspecies of E. humilis and indicated the punctuation of the pronotum was slightly more dense in E. humilis rugiceps.

      Ratcliffe, B. C. and R. D. Cave. 2017. The dynastine scarab beetles of the United States and Canada (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae). Bulletin of the University of Nebraska State Museum 30: 1-298.
      Endrödi, S. 1969. Monographie der Dynastinae 4. Tribus: Pentodontini (Coleoptera, Lamellicornia). Entomologische Abhandlungen 87: 1-145.

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