Tarsostenus univittatus (Rossi, 1792)

Tarsostenus univittatus (Rossi, 1792) ; Cleridae : Korynetinae (no tribal assignment)

Illustrations: Plate 5-D. Key to clerid genera, couplet 9-B, F

Distribution: Transcontinental but spotty in distribution in the U.S.

- Recorded from: CA, FL, IN, GA, OH, TX. Also occurs throughout Australia, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Israel, Italy, Honduras, Peru, the Philippines, Korea and West Africa ( Froggatt 1927; Wolcott 1947; Barr 1950; Knull 1951; Blackwelder 1957; Papp 1960; Hawkeswood 1991; Solervicens 1991; Peck 1993; Peck & Thomas 1998; Gerstmeier et al. 1999; Solervicens 2002; Kolibáč 2003; Kim & Jung 2006; BugGuide). Barr (1950) noted that the distribution of the species was cosmopolitan to the extent that it matched the distribution of Lyctus , on which it is predaceous (see Natural History below).

- New State Records: GEORGIA: Gwinnett County: A. & S. Marble Warehouse, ex. pallets from India, 10- VIII-2010, T. Price ( UGCA, 1). While no Kentucky specimens are known to the authors, an IN specimen is from Jeffersonville ( Clark County) just across the Ohio River from Kentucky.

Natural History: Bøving & Champlain (1920) reported that it has been reared from (1) ash ( Fraxinus ) lumber infested with the bostrichid Lyctus parallelocollis Blackburn (an Australian species—this lumber was from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, ME, so very likely an import), (2) hickory ( Carya ) lumber with Lyctus infestations, (3) persimmon ( Diospyros ) blocks with Lyctus and Sinoxylon ( Bostrichidae ) damage, and (4) oak ( Quercus ) infested with Lyctus . St. George (1924) reported that eggs are laid at the entrances of its host’s galleries and overwintering is usually passed as larvae and illustrated how its eggs and 1 st instar larvae can be differentiated from those of its prey. Knull (1951) added that it also feeds on the bostrichid Xylobiops in these woods/wood products and white oak ( Quercus alba ) and reported it to be abundant in a Lyctus infestation in Ohio. Gerstmeier et al. (1999) reported that it preys on: (1) Lyctus africanus (Lesne) infesting Acacia tortilis raddiana , (2) Lyctus parallelocollis infesting pecan ( Carya illinoinensis ), (3) the bostrichid Trogoxylon impressum (Comolli) infesting Judas tree ( Cercis siliquastrum ), fig ( Ficus retusa ) and Brazillian peppertree ( Schinus terebinthifolia ), (4) Lyctus brunneus (Stephens) infesting spotted gum ( Corymbia maculata ), (5) Lyctus carbonarius LeConte infesting oak, (6) multiple Lyctus species infesting plywood. Because Lyctus africanus can severely damage wood products, Gerstmeier et al. (1999) considered T. univittatus as an important predator of this pest. Leavengood (2008b) reported that it has been collected from Philippine mahogany ( Toona calantas ) and Honduran mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla ) lumber (from label data).

Mimicry: Donisthorpe (1901) considered it to be a mutillid mimic.

Chemical lures: Leavengood (2008b) reported collections via Lindgren funnel traps baited with ethanol from label data, but the attractiveness of this lure to T. univittatus has yet to be tested.