Comparative Ecology of the Genus Lecontella Wolcott and Chapin (Coleoptera: Cleridae: Tillinae), with Notes on Chemically Defended Species of the Beetle Family Cleridae

The genus Lecontella Wolcott and Chapin currently contains two species, L. brunnea (Spinola) from eastern North America and L. gnara Wolcott from southwestern North America. The results of the authors laboratory and field studies of L. gnara Wolcott are summarized, and this species biology compared to that of L. brunnea. Larvae of L. brunnea are parasites in nests of solitary bees and wasps (Hymenoptera: Eumenidae, Sphecidae, and Megachilidae); adults have been collected at lights at night. The larva of L. gnara, which preys on immature stages of Cerambycidae and Buprestidae (Coleoptera), was described and illustrated by earlier workers under the name Cymatodera morosa. Adults of L. gnara are commonly collected at lights at night and have been reared from Quercus arizonica Sargent, Prosopis sp., and Juglans sp. Adult feeding, antennal grooming, and copulatory behaviors are described for L. gnara, and the presence of a chemical defense in adults of this species is noted for the first time.