NiptusBoield. and Allied Genera in North America (Coleoptera: Ptinidae)

Abstract

This paper offers a taxonomic treatment of the North American species of the genera Niptus Boieldieu (1856, pp. 290, 662), Epauloecus Mulsant and Rey (1868, pp. 49, 198), and Pseudeurostus Heyden (1906, p. 424), which was proposed as a new name for Eurostus Mulsant and Rey, 1868, not Dallas, 1851. Six species are considered, Two of these are treated in Fall's revision of the North American Ptinidae (1905, pp. 107-108). Two others are Old World species that were discovered more recently in Canada, and two species are dcscribed as new. All of the species belong to Niptus in the sense of Fall's revision, which this paper supplements. Three of the six species are imported minor pests and are known in America only from buildings, where they breed in organic matter of various kinds. The others are native, outdoor species of the wesrern United States. Hinton (1941, pp. 339-344) has described and figured the pest species and has summarized the literature on their habits.

Fossil Insect Evidence for Late Quaternary Climatic Change in the Big Bend Region, Chihuahuan Desert, Texas

“…Nearly all of the specimens were identified as Niptus ventriculus (Fig. 4C), a species widespread in the desert southwest, known to inhabit packrat and other rodent nests (Brown, 1939;Papp, 1962). The other ptinid identified from the fossil middens, Ptinus cf.…”

Death-Watch and Spider Beetles of Wisconsin—Coleoptera: Ptinidae

“…In this study, specimens were examined from three Wisconsin counties; they constitute a NEW STATE RECORD. (Brown 1959, Papp 1962, Philips 2002. The holotype and eight paratypes of P. kelleri were recorded "60 feet inside the entrance of Logan Cave" in Utah, while P. hilleri has been taken infrequently from inside warehouses (Brown 1959 Diagnosis-Pseudeurostus hilleri may be readily distinguished from the similar Ptinus species by having metathoracic trochanters long and exceeding the elytral margin when projected perpendicular to the body (Fig.…”

“…Distribution-Pseudeurostus hilleri, described from Japan by Reitter (1877), was first recorded in North America from New England by Johnson (1921) (Papp 1962) and from inside warehouses in Canada in 1936 (Brown 1959). Within Canada, it is known from Quebec, New Brunswick, Ontario, Alberta, and British Columbia (Brown 1959, Philips 2002. This species is also said to be widely distributed in Scotland, where it is considered a pest of stored products, as well as from Great Britain (Hinton 1941).…”