BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST.. 16: 2003 153 NOTES ON THE BEETLE FAUNA OF THE MID-CHURNET VALLEY, STAFFORDSHIRE Mark. R. Webb and Maurice Waterhouse* Penny Anderson Associates Ltd., Park Lea, 60 Park Road, Buxton Derbyshire SKI7 6SN, and *30 Beswick Close, Cheadle, Stoke on Trent ST10 ILE. Introduction The mid-Churnet Valley contains a variety of habitats, and is approximately located between Cheddleton to the north-west and Froghall to the south-east, near Stoke-on-Trent. It is generally dominated by acidic oak-birch ancient woodland, but with areas of alder carr and lush meadow vegetation on the banks of the River Churnet itself. Most of these habitats are incorporated within the Churnet Valley Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Methods Records included here were all generated via fieldwork during the summers of 1996 and 1997. Sites surveyed include Consall Woods (SJ994483), Booths Wood (SK005485), Crowgutter Wood (SK003492), Rough Knipe (SK000495) and additional river-marsh areas (SJ992502). Records were obtained mostly via active collecting. Smaller saproxylic species were mostly collected by hand and pooter, searching under loose bark, in decaying wood, and around fungal fruiting bodies. Larger woodland and grassland species were usually swept from prominent nectar flowers, such as hogweed in woodland rides, or from open grassy or herbaceous vegetation. Results and Discussion In total, 31 beetle species included in Hyman & Parsons (1992, 1994) were found, comprising one Red Data Book (RDB) 2 and two RDB 3, five Nationally Notable A, 22 Nationally Notable B, and one Local species. Of these, two are new to Staffordshire, and six are new post-1970 county records. The species found can be divided into a number of ecological groupings: saproxylic species, which can be further divided into those associated with different kinds of dead wood; species of damp meadows and marshes; and species phytophagous on trees. All species are listed below according to these groupings. Brief notes indicate where/by which sampling method the beetles were found. Additional information is from Hyman & Parsons (1992, 1994) unless stated otherwise. 1. Saproxylic species (a) Species found in deadwood decayed by fungi and/or in the fruiting bodies of these fungi include; Histeridae Gnathoncus buyssoni Auzat Na In owls nests Scydmaenidae Microscydmus minimus Chaudoir RDB3 Under bark M. nanus Schaum Nb Under bark Elateridae Ampedus pomorum Herbst. Nb In rotting birch and oak Cryptophagidae Atomaria umhrina Gyllcnhal Nb In rotting wood debris 154 BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST.. 16: 2003 Lathridiidae Lathridius consimilis MannerheimNb In fungoid wood and fungus on trees Enicmus fungicola Thomson Nb In slime mould fruit- bodies Mycetophagidae Mycetophagus piceus Fabricius Nb Under fungoid bark Melandryidae Hallomenus binotatus Quensel Nb Under bark Orchesia minor Walker Nb Beating birch The histerid Gnathoncus buyssoni is known from decaying trunks, birds nests and fungi on trees. This is a new county record. Microscydmus minimus is known else- where (post-1970) in Staffordshire from Bagot’s Park. It is an old forest relic species (Hodge & Jones, 1995). Microscydmus nanus which is known from woodland leaf , litter and rotten wood, is new to Staffordshire. Atomaria umbrina is found in similar habitats. The click beetle Ampedus pomorum is associated with decaying birch, as is Lathridius consimilis especially when under attack by the fungus Piptoporus betulinus. , Enicmusfungicola is known to breed in slime-mould fruiting bodies, especially on oak, and this is the first post-1970 county record. Mycetophagus piceus requires oak being decayed by the fungus Laetiporus sulphureus which is also a habitat for Hallomenus , binotatus. The false darkling beetle Orchesia minor is a further fungus-feeder, possibly utilizing Polyporus spp. in particular, as well as well-rotten wood. (b) Species associated with freshly dead (or hard) wood include: Lymexylidae Hylecoetus dermestoides L. Nb Burrowing into dead wood Cerambycidae Saperda scalaris L. Na On umbel inflorescences in woodland ride Rhizophagidae Rhizophagus nitidulus Fabricius Nb Under bark R. picipes Olivier Na Under bark Scolytidae Xyloterus signatus Fabricius Nb Under bark Xyleborus dispcir Fabricius Nb Under bark The lymexylid Hylecoetus dermestoides, the bark beetles Xyloterus signatus and Xyleborus dispar and the longhorn beetle Saperda scalaris, are all associated with , fresh and hard dead wood, mostly in ancient broad-leaved woodlands. Rhizophagus spp. hunt bark beetle larvae under bark and so need dead wood that has been colonized by scolytids, but which still has the bark intact. (c) Species associated with twigs and small branches, <5 cm diameter, include: Cerambycidae Gracilia minuta Fabricius RDB2 On hogweed flowers in woodland clearings Stenostola dubia Laicharting Nb On hogweed flowers in woodland clearings The diminutive longhorn beetle, Gracilia minuta has, until now, not been recorded post- 1970 in Staffordshire; in fact Hyman & Parsons state that it is only known from five other vice-counties: south Hampshire, east and west Kent, Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire. It was however also recorded in Worcestershire in 1999 (Goddard, pers. comm.). It is known to feed within twigs and small branches of various trees. Stenosola dubia is known to feed in branches of <5 cm diameter on lime trees Tilia BR. J. ENT. NAT. HIST.. 16: 2003 155 cordata Miller and T. plcityphyllos Scop. Adult beetles ofboth these species also appear to require nectar sources, notably umbel flowers, in woodland clearings. 2, River meadow species Elateridae Ctenicera cupreus Fabricius Local Swept at edge of wood/marsh C. pectinicornis Fabricius Na Swept at edge of wood/marsh Cantharidae Cantliarisfuscci L. RDB3 Swept in marshes and river meadow Chrysomelidae Plateumaris affinis Kunze Nb Swept in marshes and flushes Mantura obtusata Gyllenhal Nb Roots of tussocks in marshes The habitat requirements of the click beetle Ctenicera pectinicornis are given in Hyman & Parsons as lush grassland in old hay meadows, where the larva feeds at the roots of plants. These are the first post-1970 records for Staffordshire. Presumably C. cupreus has similar, if less exacting requirements. The reed beetle Plateumaris affinis is phytophagous on sedges, and is usually found on emergent vegetation at aquatic margins. Mantura obtusata is associated with Rumex spp., particularly R. acetosa L. growing in wet meadows, with its larvae probably mining the host plant's leaves. For the soldier beetle Cantharis fuscci, Hyman & Parsons state that post-1970 records only exist for four other vice-counties, all in southern England, although the species was formerly more widespread, ranging up to East Lothian in Scotland. An update provided by Alexander (2000), discusses records from a few southern coastal areas in Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, from Somerset, where the species is apparently fairly widespread, and from Yorkshire, where three localities are known. It appears to be a species of rich fen and damp hay meadows, where both the adults and larvae are free-living and active, with adults particularly noticeable on umbellifer flowers. Habitats in the mid-Churnet Valley would appear to be small patches of river-meadow within a wider woodland setting. 3. Phytophagous species associated with trees Silphidae Aclypea opaca L. Na Found near old oaks Elateridae Selatosomus impressus Fabricius Nb Found by sweeping beneath birch trees Chrysomelidae Cryptocephalus bipunctatus L. Nb Beating birch M Nb C. parvulus tiller Beating trees Nb C. punctiger Paykull Beating trees Nb Curculionidae Acalles ptinoides Gyllenhal Beating trees Nb A. roboris Curtis Beating trees Coeliodes ruber Marsham Nb Beating trees These are the first post- 1970 Staffordshire records for the burying beetle Aclvpea opaca which apparently feeds on plant roots. The natural history of the click beetle , Selatosomus impressus is poorly known, but it probably has soil-dwelling larvae and adults are associated with trees. The Cryptocephalus leafbeetles are all associated with birch, the larvae are cased and ground living, where they feed on fallen leaves, C. parvulus preferring leaves browned by fungal infection. Staffordshire contains the only localities for C. punctiger outside southern England. The weevil Acallesptinoid.es is found on old trees, especially hawthorn and hazel, and A. roboris is associated with 156 BR J. ENT. NAT. HIST.. 16 2003 known oak. Accilles larvae are believed to develop in fallen branches. Coeliodes ruber is to feed on oak and hazel. Conclusions Overall, this is an impressive list of species from a rich and valuable beetle fauna, of an often overlooked area. The ecological requirements of the species found highlight the vital importance of dead-wood resources, including wood being decayed by fungi, freshly dead trees and dead branches on living trees. Further, the importance of what are marginal habitats in this area, small patches of lush river- meadow and marsh along the course of the River Churnet, is also highlighted. Clearly both the mid-Churnet Valley and these latter habitats warrant further entomological investigation. Acknowledgements Thanks to Keith Alexander and Colin Johnson who have kindly contributed some records to M. Waterhouse, and to Steve Williams of Consall Nature Park for permission to carry out fieldwork at that site. References Alexander, K. N. A. (2000). Cantharisfusca Linnaeus (Cantharidae) rediscovered in Yorkshire. The Coleopterist 9: 44. Hodge, P. J. & Jones, R. A. (1995) New British Beetles. Species not in Joy’s practical handbook. British Entomological and Natural History Society, Reading. Hyman, P. S. (revised Parsons, M. S.) 1992. A review ofthe scarce and threatened Coleoptera of UK Great Britain. Part 1. Nature Conservation No. 3. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough. Hyman. P. S. (revised Parsons, M. S.) 1994. A review ofthe scarce and threatened Coleoptera of UK Great Britain. Part 2. Nature Conservation No. 12. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough. SHORT COMMUNICATIONS New south-eastern county records for Cacopsylla fulguralis (Kuwayama) (Henii- — ptera: Psvllidae). Following the announcement of the occurrence of this beautiful psyllid in UK (Malumphy, C.P. & Halstead, A.J., 2003. Br. J. Ent.Nat.Hist. 16 89- : 93) I began searching its hostplant, Elaeagnus spp., to assess its current status in the south-east. Its distribution is obviously still patchy as one might expect for a newly- invading species and many searches proved negative. Reasonable numbers of adults were eventually found on some mature bushes of E. x ebbingei on an abandoned patch of ground on the eastern edge of Sunbury Golf Course (TQ1068), Middlesex on 2nd June 2003. The first record for Kent turned out to be at Allhallows Holiday Camp (TQ8377), a rather isolated community on the north Kent coast on 17th June 2003. The second locality was of a few individuals found on low, neatly clipped hedges of E. x ebbingei in the car-parking area of Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Rainham (TQ7963) on 4th July 2003. These were surreptitiously tapped out into my hands in view of the large number of shoppers nearby. None of the bushes — showed any obvious signs of insect damage. J. S. BADM1N, Coppice Place, Perry Wood. Selling, Kent ME13 9RP.