Species Chaetocnema rileyi

Boca Chica Flea Beetle (BCFB)

Chaetocnema - Key toc NEE ma

Chaetocnema rileyi R. White 1996

2.3-3.5 mm (1)

distinguished based on a combination of the vertex of head with a few punctures above each eye, the pronotal punctures distinct and evenly distributed, the pronotal margin posterior to the anterior pronotal angle lacking an irregularity, lateral margins of body not constricted at the junction of elytra and pronotum, and the shape of the male genitalia. (1)

known only from vicinity of the terminus of Boca Chica Blvd, State Hwy 4, immediately west of beach-side dunes, Cameron Co., TX - Map (1)(2)

Habitat Photos (March 2009): Photo 1, Photo 2 Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5 - 25.997701, -97.152211

series of spmns in the TAMUIC(3) coll'ed Mar, May, July, Oct:

Oct. 19, 1990 - short series

May 7, 1991 - short series

Oct. 26, 1991 - Holotype in the USNM/Smithsonian

Oct. 31, 1991 - long series

Mar. 6-7, 2009 - long series (includes BugGuide spmn)

July 7, 2017 - long series

Associated with Marsh Fimbry - (Fimbristylis castanea, Cyperaceae) (4)(5)

This species (or species complex) ranges from Long Island south along the Atlantic coast and west along the Gulf coast to northern Mexico, the tip of Yucatan peninsula, and also in coastal areas of Cuba and the Bahamas. (Kral 1971)

Chaetocnema larvae are known to be subterranean, feeding on the underground portions of their host plants (Jolivet & Hawkeswood 1995; Riley & King 2009)

Type Locality: Boca Chica Beach (behind Dunes), Cameron, Texas

Texas considers this to be a "Species of Greatest Conservation Need" (SGCN) (6)

Cowan, C.P. 1983. Flora de Tabasco. Listados Floríst. México 1: 1–123.

Jolivet, P. & T.J. Hawkeswood. 1995. Host-plants of Chrysomelidae of the World: An essay about the relationships between the leaf-beetles and their food-plants. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands. xiv + 281 pp.

Kral, R.D. 1971. A treatment of Abildgaardia, Bulbostylis and Fimbristylis (Cyperaceae) for North America. Sida 4(2): 57–227. (Full Text)

Riley, E.G. & J.E. King. 2009. Element record datasheets submitted to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Wildlife Division, Austin. (1)

White, R.E. 1996. A revision of the genus Chaetocnema of America north of Mexico (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). American Entomological Institute 29(1): 1-158. (4)

Type Info - Smithsonian

Fimbristylis castanea - Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden