Abstract
The Carabidae of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are surveyed. The collecting history of the family in the region is reviewed. New records of 20 species are reported, 6 from New Brunswick and 15 from Nova Scotia. Six species are newly recorded in the Maritime Provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island) as a whole. Six species are removed from the faunal list of Nova Scotia and one from the faunal list of New Brunswick. Consequently, 282 species of Carabidae are now known from Nova Scotia, 273 species from New Brunswick, and 329 from the Maritime Provinces as a whole. A new and earlier timeline (1942) is reported for the introduced Palearctic carabid, Bembidion properans (Stephens), in North America. The status of Stenolophus carbo Bousquet in the region is reviewed and its presence in Nova Scotia is considered doubtful. The historical origins of the Maritime fauna are discussed based on studies of post-glacial Coleoptera. These indicate at least three colonization phases, some elements of which are still apparent in the contemporary fauna. Elements of the native Nova Scotia fauna not found in New Brunswick (26 species), may represent colonization from New England across post-glacial land bridges and island chains. Elements of the native fauna found in New Brunswick and not Nova Scotia (31 species), may represent species that have reached the eastward limit of their distribution for climatic or environmental reasons; or that have found the Northumberland Strait and/or the isthmus of Chignecto an obstacle to geographical dispersal; or represent widely distributed boreal species (6 species) that should be sought in Nova Scotia. Eighteen species of Nova Scotia carabids have been recorded only from Cape Breton Island, two of which are known in Atlantic Canada solely from there. Although Cape Breton is separated from the mainland by the 1.5 km wide Strait of Canso, the number of flightless, native carabids present is proportionally greater than that in Nova Scotia overall, or the Maritime Provinces as a whole. Despite differences in land mass and distance to the neighbouring mainland, the faunas of Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and insular Newfoundland, exhibit similarities in size and composition, although Newfoundland's fauna has twice the proportion of Holarctic species. Cape Breton's carabid fauna is diminished compared to the neighbouring mainland, having only 57% of the native species. This may represent an island-associated diminution, the paucity of collecting, or a combination of both, although in comparison with other groups of Coleoptera the Carabidae appear relatively well represented. Within Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick has the lowest proportion (8.8%) of introduced carabids and the highest proportion (83.2%) of native, Nearctic species. Given the potential utility of carabids as bioindicators, and the wide range of disturbance to which the environment of the Maritime Provinces has been subjected, further research on this diverse group of beetles would be desirable.References
Acorn, J. (2001) Tiger beetles of Alberta: killers on the clay, stalkers on the sand. University of Alberta Press, Edmonton, Alberta. 120 pp.
Aikens, K. (2006) Responses of Carabidae and Staphylinidae (Coleoptera) to different grazing regimes in a Nova Scotian dairy pasture. B.Sc. thesis. Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia. 55 pp.
Apigian, K. & Wheelwright, N.T. (2000) Forest ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) on a boreal island: habitat preferences and the effect of experimental removals. The Canadian Entomologist, 132, 627–634.
Ball, G.E. & Bousquet, Y. (2000) Carabidae Latreille, 1810. In: Arnett, R.H., Jr. and Thomas, M.C. (Eds.). American Beetles. 1. Archeostemata, Myxophaga, Adephaga, Polyphaga: Staphyliniformia. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. pp. 32–132.
Bertrand, A-S. (2005) Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) from northwestern New Brunswick, Canada: notes on uncommonly reported species and new provincial records. Northeastern Naturalist, 12(3), 287–294.
Böcher, J. (1988) The Coleoptera of Greenland. Meddelelser om Grønland, Bioscience, 26, 1–100.
Boiteau, G., Bousquet, Y., & Osborn, W. (2000) Vertical and temporal distribution of Carabidae and Elateridae in flight above an agricultural landscape. Environmental Entomology, 29(6), 1157–1163.
Bousquet, Y. (1987) The carabid fauna of Canada and Alaska: range extensions, additions, and descriptions of two new species of Dyschirius (Coleoptera: Carabidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 41(2), 111–135.
Bousquet, Y. (1988) Dyschirius of America north of Mexico: description of new species with keys to species groups and species (Coleoptera: Carabidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 120, 361–387.
Bousquet, Y. (1991) Family Carabidae: ground beetles. In Bousquet, Y. (Ed.). Checklist of Beetles of Canada and Alaska. Agriculture Canada Publication 1861/E. Ottawa, Ontario. pp. 8–60
Bousquet, Y. (1992) Bembidion femoratum Sturm and Amara communis (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) new to North America. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, 100, 503–509.
Bousquet, Y. & Larochelle, A. (1993) Catalogue of the Geadephaga (Coleoptera: Trachypachidae, Rhysodidae, Carabidae including Cicindelini) of America north of Mexico. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada, 167, 1–397.
Bousquet, Y. & Webster, R. (2004) Review of the Nearctic species of the Holarctic subgenus Argutor (Coleoptera: Carabidae). The Canadian Entomologist, 136, 645–660.
Bousquet, Y. & Webster, R. (2006) Descriptions of three new species of Bembidion Latreille (Coleoptera: Carabidae) occurring in Canada. Zootaxa, 1297, 23–35.
Brown, W.J. (1940) Notes on the American distribution of some species of Coleoptera common to the European and North American continents. The Canadian Entomologist, 72, 65–78.
Brown, W.J. (1950) The extralimital distribution of some species of Coleoptera. The Canadian Entomologist, 82, 197–205.
Brown, W.J. (1967) Notes on the extralimital distribution of some species of Coleoptera. The Canadian Entomologist, 99, 85–93.
Casey, T.L. (1924) Memoirs on the Coleoptera XI. Lancaster Press, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. 347 pp.
D'Orsay, C. (2005) Ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) diversity across three forest communities differing in land use history and successional stage in eastern Cape Breton. B.Sc. thesis. Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia. 28 pp.
Evenhuis, N.L. (2007) Abbreviations for insect and spider collections of the world. Available from: http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/codens/codens-inst.html (accessed 21 June 2007).
Evans, J.D. (1899) List of Coleoptera from Halifax, N.S. The Canadian Entomologist, 31, 320–321.
Ewing, R.M. (2006) A description of beetle (Coleoptera) and spider (Araneae) populations in Kejimkujik National Park for long-term monitoring of ecological change. B.Sc. thesis. Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. 38 pp.
Freitag, R. (1999) Catalogue of the tiger beetles of Canada and the United States. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario. 192 pp.
Gordon, R.D. (1985) The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of America north of Mexico. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, 93, 1–912.
Goulet, H. & Bousquet, Y. (2004) The ground beetles of Canada. Available from: http://digir.agr.gc.ca/spp_pages/carabids/phps/index_e.php (accessed 10 February 2007).
Harrington, W.H. (1892) Two distinguished settlers. The Canadian Entomologist, 24, 112.
Hieke, F. (2003) Die Gruppe der Amara (Amara) cupreolata Putzeys 1866 (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Linzer Biologische Beiträge. 35(1), 201–216.
Howden, H.F., Martin, J.E.H., Bousfield, E.L., & McAllister, D.E. (1970) Fauna of Sable Island and its zoogeographic affinities. National Museums of Canada Publications in Zoology, 4: 1–45.
Jones, M. (1869) Nova Scotian Coleoptera: Part I. Proceedings of the Nova Scotia Institute of Natural Science, 2(3), 141–155.
Keddy, P.A. & Wisheu, I.C. (1989) Ecology, biogeography, and conservation of coastal plain plants: some general principles from the study of Nova Scotian wetlands. Rhodora, 91, 72–94.
King, L.H. (1996) Late Wisconsin ice retreat from the Scotian Shelf. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 108, 1056–1067.
Kirby, W. (1837) Fauna boreali-Americana or the Zoology of the northern parts of British America, containing descriptions of the objects of natural history collected on the late northern land expeditions, under the command of Captain Sir John Franklin, RN, by John Richardson. Volume 4. Norwich, Eng: Fletcher. 325 pp.
Klimaszeski, J., Majka, C.G., & Langor, D. (2006) Review of the North American Tarphiota Casey, with a description of a new seashore-inhabiting species Atheta species exhibiting convergent characteristics (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Aleocharinae). Entomological Science, 9, 67–78.
Lafontaine, J.D., Allyson, S., Behan-Pelletier, V.M., Borkent, A., Campbell, J.M., Hamilton, K.G.A., Martin, J.E.H., & Masner, L. (1987) The insects, spiders, and mites of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Agriculture Canada, Biosystematics Research Centre Report, 1, 1–302.
Larochelle, A. & Larivière, M.-C. (2003) A natural history of the ground-beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) of America north of Mexico. Pensoft, Sofia, Bulgaria. 583 pp.
Larson, D.J. & Langor, D.W. (1982) The carabid beetles of insular Newfoundland (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelidae) – 30 years after Lindroth. The Canadian Entomologist, 114, 591–597.
Leonard, J.G. & Bell, R.T. (1999) Northeastern tiger beetles: a field guide to tiger beetles of New England and eastern Canada. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. 176 pp.
Liebherr, J.K. & Will, K.W. (1996) New North American Platynus Bonelli (Coleoptera: Carabidae), a key to species north of Mexico, and notes on species from the southwestern United States. The Coleopterists Bulletin, 50, 301–320.
Lindroth, C.H. (1954) Carabid beetles from Nova Scotia. The Canadian Entomologist, 86, 299–310.
Lindroth, C.H. (1955) The carabid beetles of Newfoundland including the French islands St. Pierre and Miquelon. Opuscula Entomologica Supplementum, 11, 1–160.
Lindroth, C.H. (1957) The faunal connections between Europe and North America. Almqvist & Wiksell, Stockholm, Sweden. 344 pp.
Lindroth, C.H. (1961) The ground-beetles (Carabidae, excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska. Opuscula Entomologica Supplementum, 20, 1–200.
Lindroth, C.H. (1963a) The ground-beetles (Carabidae, excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska. Opuscula Entomologica Supplementum, 24, 201–408.
Lindroth, C.H. (1963b) The Fauna History of Newfoundland Illustrated by Carabid Beetles. Opuscula Entomologica Supplementum, 23, 1–112.
Lindroth, C.H. (1966) The ground-beetles (Carabidae, excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska. Opuscula Entomologica Supplementum, 29, 409–648.
Lindroth, C.H. (1968) The ground-beetles (Carabidae, excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska. Opuscula Entomologica Supplementum, 33, 649–944.
Lindroth, C.H. (1969a) The ground-beetles (Carabidae, excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska. Opuscula Entomologica Supplementum, 34, 945–1192.
Lindroth, C.H. (1969b) The ground-beetles (Carabidae, excl. Cicindelinae) of Canada and Alaska. Opuscula Entomologica Supplementum, 35, I–XLVII.
Majka, C.G. (2005) The Palearctic species Bembidion femoratum and Amara communis (Coleoptera: Carabidae): new records and notes on modes of introduction to North America. The Canadian Entomologist, 137, 532–538.
Majka, C.G. (2006) The Mycteridae, Boridae, Pythidae, Pyrochroidae, and Salpingidae (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. Zootaxa, 1250, 37–51.
Majka, C.G., Cook, J., & Westby, S. (2006) Introduced Carabidae (Coleoptera) from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island: new records and ecological perspectives. The Canadian Entomologist, 138(4), 602–609.
Majka, C.G. & Jackman, J.A. (2006) The Mordellidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The Canadian Entomologist, 138, 292–304.
Majka C.G., & Klimaszewski J. (2004) Phloeocharis subtilissima Mannerheim (Staphylinidae: Phloeocharinae) and Cephennium gallicum Ganglbauer (Scydmaenidae) new to North America: a case study in the introduction of exotic Coleoptera to the port of Halifax, with new records of other species. Zootaxa, 781, 1–15.
Majka, C.G. & McCorquodale, D.B. (2006) The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: new records, biogeographic notes, and conservation concerns. Zootaxa, 1154, 49–68.
Majka, C.G., Bousquet, Y., Noronha, C., & Smith, M.E. (in press) The distribution, zoogeography, and composition of Prince Edward Island Carabidae (Coleoptera). The Canadian Entomologist.
Majka, C.G. & Pollock, D.A. (2006) Understanding saproxylic beetles: new records of Tetratomidae, Melandryidae, Synchroidae, and Scraptiidae from the Maritime Provinces of Canada (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea). Zootaxa, 1248, 45–68.
Majka, C.G., Bousquet, Y., Noronha, C., & Smith, M.E (in press) Prince Edward Island. Carabidae (Coleoptera): new records, historical review, and checklist of species. The Canadian Entomologist.
McCorquodale, D.B. (2000) Notiophilus novemstriatus LeConte (Coleoptera: Carabidae), a new ground beetle for Canada from a most unlikely location. The Coleopterists Bulletin, 54(3), 339–340.
Miller, R.F. (1995) Late-glacial Coleoptera and the paleoclimate at Hirtles, Nova Scotia. Atlantic Geology, 31, 95–101.
Miller, R.F. (1996) Allerød–Younger Dryas Coleoptera from western Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 33, 33–41.
Miller, R.F. (1997a) Late glacial (Allerød–Younger Dryas) Coleoptera from central Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 34, 247–259.
Miller, R.F. (1997b) Late glacial (Allerød) Coleoptera from Joggins, Lantz and Blomidon, central Nova Scotia, Canada. Atlantic Geology, 33, 223–229.
Miller, R.F. (2000) Late glacial (Younger Dryas) Coleoptera from Saint John, New Brunswick (NTS 21 G/1). In: Carroll, B.M.W. (Ed.). Current Research 1999. New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources and Energy, Minerals and Energy Division, Mineral Resources Report, 2000–4, 31–38.
Miller, R.F. & Elias, S.A. (2000) Late glacial climate in the Maritimes Region, Canada, reconstructed from mutual climatic range analysis of fossil Coleoptera. Boreas, 29, 79–88.
Miller, R.F. & Morgan, A.V. (1991) Late-glacial Coleoptera fauna from Lismore, Nova Scotia. Atlantic Geology, 27, 193–197.
Neil, K. (2004) Distribution and biogeography of Nova Scotia tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Adephaga: Carabidae: Cicindelinae: Cicindelini: Cicindela). Report to the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History, Halifax, NS. 8 pp.
Pearsall, I.A. & Walde, S.J. (1994) Parasitism and predation as agents of mortality of winter moth populations in neglected apple orchards in Nova Scotia. Ecological Entomology, 19, 190–198.
Pearson, D.L., Knisley, C.B., & Kazilek, C.J. (2006) A field guide to the tiger beetles of the United States and Canada. Oxford University Press, New York, NY. 227 pp.
Rainio, J. & Niemelä, J. (2003) Ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as bioindicators. Biodiversity and Conservation, 12, 487–506.
Shaw, J. & Gareau P. (2002) Changing sea levels in Atlantic Canada. CoastWeb: Geological Survey of Canada. Available from: http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/coast/sealevel/index_e.php (accessed 24 March, 2007).
Waldick, R., B. Freedman, & R. Wassersug. (1999) The consequences for amphibians of the conversion of natural mixed-species forests to conifer plantations in southern New Brunswick, Canada. The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 113, 408–418.
Wallis, J.B. (1961) The Cicindelidae of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario. 74 pp.
Wright, B. (1989) The Fauna of Sable Island. Nova Scotia Museum Curatorial Report, 68, 1–93.