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Photo#23985
Margined Leatherwing - Chauliognathus marginatus

Margined Leatherwing - Chauliognathus marginatus
Reedy Creek Section, Umstead State Park, Wake County, North Carolina, USA
July 7, 2005
Late in the season for this species, it is more common in late May and June. This individual does not have a complete dash mark on the pronotum. Another mating pair observed in the vicinity had the typical markings.

I'm interested to see when the first Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus appear. The two seem to be separated neatly by their phenology, marginatus in early summer, pennsylvanicus in late summer and fall.

Margined vs Pennsylvania Leatherwing?
Patrick,

I have some pictures that I'm trying to ID as Margined vs. Pennsylvania Leatherwings. I'm no expert, but to my untrained eye your specimen looks more like a Pennsylvania Leatherwings (Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus)

Given the atypical markings on the pronotum and late appearance, how do you ID it as a Chauliognathus marginatus?

I would have thought your specimen looked more like a Chauliognathus pennsylvanicus. Consider this image:


My specimens have markings much more typical of Chauliognathus marginatus. I'm pretty sure that's what they are. Here is a link to one of my images on pbase:

Margined Leatherwings?

 
ID this species
Well, I posted this photo because the individual's markings were a bit odd. The black dash on the pronotum is present near the head and then fades out rearward. Still, though, it is a dash, not a rounded spot, as in C. pennsylvanicus. Also, the spot on C. penn. never (as far as I know) touches the front of the pronotum, as in my photo. Your in-line image of C. penn. shows this well--the spot does not get near the front of the pronotum. Your linked photos are indeed of C. marginatus, with the more typical markings.

Another character I believe differentiates the two is that the pronotum of C. marg. is much more squared-off on the corners than is that of C. penn., the latter being more rounded. Take a look at the images here for both species and I think you'll see that. My photo above has the squared-off pronotum.

Date is also correct for C. marginatus (May-July), but wrong for C. penn. (Aug-October or so in NC). This was, in fact, quite late for C. marginatus in my experience, and perhaps that explains the odd pattern on the pronotum--wear, maybe.

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