Other Common Names
Cedar Beetles or Cicada Parasite Beetles
(1)Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
No formal revision of the N. Amer. spp. has been undertaken
(1)Explanation of Names
Some males cedar-colored suggesting one common name
(1)Size
17-20 mm males, 22-25 mm females
(1)Identification
Head weakly deflected, male antennae flabellate, females serrate, mandibles generally large, elytral punctures in rows.
(1)Range
Five Nearctic spp. whose distributions is poorly known:
(1)
Sandalus californicus LeConte 1861 - CA, ID, NV
Sandalus cribricollis Van Dyke 1923 - CA only
Sandalus niger Knoch 1801 - so. Ont., to ne. and mid-w. U.S., so. to TX
Sandalus petrophya Knoch 1801 - Eastern US (including Florida)
Sandalus porosus LeConte 1868 - FL, TX, NM, AZ, CO
Habitat
Family occurs in all major zoogeographic regions
(1)Season
Adults active primarily from Aug to Oct.
(1)Food
Adults apparently do not feed.
(1)Life Cycle
Species undergo hypermetamorphosis and are ectoparasitoids of nymphal cicadas
(1)
Species are infrequent to rare.
(2) When encountered, often found in large numbers during the day, indicating that a pheromone was used.
(1)
On one day in late September, near Bloomington, Ind., 12 specimens were collected on hickory trunks or in flight in just 1 hour. Collecting at the same time in the same place during previous years had yielded no specimens. It is likely that these beetles were parasites on the brood of periodical cicadas which had emerged the previous year.
(2)
Rings (1942) recorded 16,846 eggs from a single female S. niger.
Remarks
Nearctic spp. known to be attracted to lights.
(1)Print References
Craighead, F.C. 1921. Larva of the North American beetle Sandalus niger Knoch. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 23: 44-48.
Rings, R.W. 1942. The external anatomy of Sandalus niger Knoch (Coleoptera:Rhipiceridae). Ann. Ent. Soc. America. 35: 411-425.
Young, F.N. 1956. Unusual abundance of Sandalus in southern Indiana. Coleopts. Bull. 9: 74.
White, p. 154, fig. 60--
Sandalus niger (2)
Arnett et al. pp. 186-187, fig. 453--
Sandalus niger (3)
Brimley, p. 164, lists
S. niger for North Carolina, describes females as black, males as red or black.
(4)
Salsbury, p. 188, photo of male
Sandalus niger (5)Internet References
Beetles of Florida lists two species for that state:
Sandalus petrophya and
S. porosus.
North Carolina State University Entomology Collection lists one species for that state,
Sandalus niger, 47 pinned. (S. petrophya also listed, but with no specimens from that state.)
