Burning Silo

Last week’s post about Lady Beetles seen here at the farm, has got me thinking that I should scare up some information on distribution of Coccinellidae species in Ontario. Quite by coincidence, yesterday I received an email regarding Lady Beetles, from the Nova Scotia nature listserv (I’m subscribed because we occasionally spend time in N.S.). The note contained information on a recently published paper, available as a .pdf document on Zootaxa, entitled The Coccinellidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada: new records, biogeographic notes, and conservation concerns, by Christopher G. Majka (Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History), and David B. McCorquodale (Dept. of Biology, Cape Breton University).

A couple of interesting bits from the note (written and posted to NatureNS by Christopher Majka). Concerning number of species:

We newly record 13 species of lady beetles from Nova Scotia and 14 on Prince Edward Island. Two species, Diomus amabilis (LeConte) and Naemia seriata seriata Melsheimer, are newly recorded in Canada. A total of 47 species are now known from the Maritime Provinces.

and regarding some of the interesting populations which were found:

Naemia seriata is a very interesting species, hitherto known from Louisiana as far north as northern Maine and restricted to salt marshes. In Nova Scotia it is found in the Minas Baisin and Annapolis River areas and on Cape Sable Island. Both species, as well as Hyperaspis troglodytes Mulsant appear to be invertebrate examples of the “coastal plain” element which is well-known in Nova Scotia in terms of its flora (first identified by Fernald in the 1920’s). These are species with a coastal distribution in the United States which stops somewhere in New England and then continues in Nova Scotia.

In addition to these there are three other species, Stethorus p. punctum (LeConte), Scymnus caudalis LeConte, and Cycloneda munda (Say) which appear to have disjunct, isolated populations in southern Nova Scotia (that is to say they are not recorded from other areas in Atlantic Canada). All of this indicates that Nova Scotia has a very interesting and unique community

When it comes to insects, I think it’s important to note that there are many observations to be made. New species have yet to be discovered and identified. Species distribution is ever changing. Occurrences of alien species should be recorded and reported. New observations concerning insect behaviour can contribute to what we know of a species. There is a place for the observant naturalist in helping to record and report this kind of information. I’ll write a bit more on this sometime soon.

Regarding the above image, it’s the Seven-spotted Lady Beetle (Coccinella septempunctata). I photographed it while walking along one of the Acadian dikes near Old Barns outside of Truro, N.S., on July 21, 2005. It’s one of several alien species which are believed to threaten native Lady Beetle species through competition. I photographed a good number of insects while in Nova Scotia last July. More on that sometime soon.

Tags: Seven-spotted Lady Beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, Coccinellidae, Nova Scotia