Genus Arthromacra

See remarks.

Arthromacra Kirby 1837

4 spp. in our area (1); see Remarks

9-15 mm

key to spp. in(2)

e. NA: A. aenea widespread (NS-MB to GA) + 3 spp. in the s Appalachian area (KY-VA-SC)(1)

Some of the Southeastern species of Arthromacra have been confused with aenea on Citizen Science sites such as BugGuide and iNaturalist. This appears to have been based on experience from the Northeastern United States and Canada. However a 1975 revision of this genus (2) accepts three species for the Southeast, as well as some identifiable subspecies of aenea. This treatment was accepted in a 2014 work on Tenebrionid and allied beetles of South Carolina (3). See discussion here.

Bousquet (1) lists four species, with ranges, as:

1-Arthromacra aenea (Say, 1824)

2-Arthromacra appalachiana Leng, 1917 USA (NC SC TN VA); listed as subspecies of aenea in some other sources

3-Arthromacra pilosella Leng, 1917 USA (KY NC SC TN); (additional BugGuide records from Arkansas)

4-Arthromacra robinsoni Leng, 1914 USA (NC SC VA); (additional BugGuide records from Georgia)

Field identification at the species level may be difficult, but it appears that robinsoni and pilosella are fairly distinctive in photographs as compared to aenea. Comments on iNaturalist indicated that appalachiana can be recognized reliably as well.