Ochodaeus ( Ochodaeus ) berytensis Petrovitz, 1965

Ochodaeus ( Ochodaeus) berytensis Petrovitz, 1965 View in CoL

( Fig. 1, 2, 6)

Ochodaeus berytensis Petrovitz, 1965: 681 View in CoL . – Chikatunov & Pavlíček, 1997: 41. – Finkel et al., 2002: 81. – López-Colón et al., 2006: 95 (catalogue). – Pittino, 2006: 79. – Nikolajev & Bezděk, 2016: 84 (catalogue). – Huchet et al., 2022: 913.

Type material examined

Holotype, ♀, NHMW, glued to a mounting card, labels: (a) white rectangular cardboard, printed:“ 10-15. V. 1963 / Dünen S v. / Beirut. Libanon / Kasy & Vartian”; (b) red rectangular cardboard, printed: “TYPUS”; (c) red rectangular cardboard,printed:“ Ochodaeus / berytensis m. /Petrovitz”;d) white rectangular cardboard, printed:“NHMW-ZOO- / COL-0002640”.

Other specimens examined ( 290 ex.)

ISRAEL

Upper Galilee

- Tel Dan, 15.VI.2002, light trap, V.Kravchenko ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Elon, 9.III.1970, leg. Schweiger / Ochodaeus berytensis , det. Petrovitz ( 1 ex. /

SMNH);

- Nahal Keziv, 12.IV.2006, light trap, V. Kravchenko, V. Chikatunov ( 1 ex. /

SMNH);

- Nahal Kziv, 20.II.1999, M. Finkel ( 1 ex. / SMNH); ditto, 24.IV.1999 ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ; ditto, 9.IV.1999 ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ; ditto, 8.V.1999 ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ; ditto, 4.VI.1999 ( 2 ex. / SMNH) ; ditto, 17.VI.2000 ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Nahal Keziv, Upper Galilee, close Montfort, 11.V.2010, trap 4, 33°02’43’’ /

35°13’24’’, semi-dry, leg. C. Drees ( 1 ex. / CJBH; 1 ex. / CSZF) ;

- Nahal Keziv, 10.V.2020, M. Finkel & H. Inbar ( 3 ex. / SMNH) ; ditto, 28.V.2020 ( 2 ex. / SMNH) ; ditto, 10.VII.2020 ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

- IL, Nahal Kziv NR, cca 253 m, Montfort castle env., 33°2’40.48’’N,

35°13’33.72’’E, 17.-23.V.2017, Martin Just leg., / Ochodaeusberytensis [???]

[sic!] Petrovitz, 1965, det.A. Bezdĕk, 2019 ( 1 unsexed / IECA);

- Bar’am, 15.XI.2016, 262154, ex. truffle, O. Danai, N. Ezov ( 1 ♂ / SMNH;

1 ex. / CJBH ); ditto, n° 262155 ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Matityahu Reserve station , on Tuber aestivum , IV-2019, L. Azoulay leg. ( 10 ex. / CJBH) ;

- Bar'am forest (Oak), truffle plantation (by trap), IV-2019, L. Azoulay leg.

( 82 ex. / MNHN & CJBH) ;

- Bar'am (natural forest), 7-V-2019 (by trap), L. Azoulay leg. ( 50 ex. /

MNHN & CJBH); ditto, 27-VII-2019 ( 45 ex. / MNHN & CJBH) ;

- Bar’am forest , old-growth woodland, 262746, 33°02’N 35°25’E, 674 m GoogleMaps ,

16.VI.2005, A. Timm, T. Assman ( 1 ex. / SMNH); ditto , n° 262745 ( 1 ex. / SMNH); ditto , 26.IV.2005, n° 262739 ( 1 ex. / SMNH); ditto , 25.VI.2005, n° 262720 ( 1 ex. / SMNH); ditto , 26.XII.2005, n° 262774 ( 1 ♂ / SMNH); ditto , 6.II.2006, n° 262790 ( 1 ♂ / SMNH); ditto , 6.II.2006, n° 262791 ( 1 ex. / SMNH); ditto , 6.II.2006, n° 262792 ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Ziv’on, batha, 33°01’N / 35°21’E, 85193, 16.IV.2005, pitfall, A. Timm,

T.Assmann ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ; 1. Habitus, dorsal view ( Photo: J.-B. Huchet, MNHN, 2020). 2. Male, foreleg. Abbreviations: Pmt = profemoral medial tooth; Po = pollex. (Photo: J.-B. Huchet, MNHN, 2022) .

- Hurfeish, batha, 33°01’N 35°21’E, 16.IV.2005, 85221, Pitfall, A. Timm, T.Assmann ( 1 ex. / SMNH) GoogleMaps ;

ditto, 6.VI.2005 ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

- ' En Ya’aqov, 19.III.2007, I. Shtirberg ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Har Meron, above Field School, 4-11.IV.2007, T. Levanony ( 2 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Har Meron, 2.VII.2002, light trap, V. Kravchenko ( 1 ex. / SMNH): ditto, 12.VII.2002 ( 3 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Har Meron, 20.IV.2002, light trap, V. Kravchenko ( 2 ex. / SMNH) :

- Har Meron, 5.X.2002, light trap, V. Kravchenko, V. Chikatunov ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

Golan Heights

- Mas'ade, 25.IV.2002, V. Kravchenko ( 16 ex. / SMNH & CJBH) ;

- Odem forest , 33°12’N 35°44’E, 5.VI.2009, leg. G. Sabatinelli ( 1 ex. / CSZF) GoogleMaps ;

- Buq'ata, 1.VIII.2002, 4663, V. Kravchenko, V. Chikatunov ( 7 ex. / SMNH & CJBH) ;

Carmel Ridge

- Nahal Oren, 24.II.1998, light, V. Chikatunov, T. Pavliček ( 2 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Nahal Oren, 4.VI.1999, NFS6, light trap, V. Chikatunov, T. Pavliček ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Nahal Oren, 09.V.2010, trap 6, northfacing slope, 32°42’52’’ / 34°59’33’’, semi-dry, leg. C. Drees ( 1 ex. / CJBH; 1 ex. / CSZF) ;

ditto, trap 4 ( 2 ex. / CSZF) ;

Judean Hills

- Zur Hadassa, 31.III.2001, Y. Mandelik ( 18 ex. / SMNH) ;

- Matta’, 19.IV.2007, I. Shtirberg ( 1 ex. / SMNH) ;

Foothills of Judea

- ' Adullam, 15.V.2008, O. Skutelsky / Ochodaeus berytensis , det. V. Chikatunov ( 1 ♂, 1 ♀ / SMNH) ;

- ' Adullam, 16.V.2008, O. Skutelsky ( 2 ex. / SMNH) .

Distribution. – Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan

Brief redescription

Relatively variable in size. Length 4.6–7.6 mm. Body unicolor, entirely pubescent, dorsally and ventrally shiny orange-brown to chestnut brown.

Head. – Transverse. Clypeus transverse, broadly rounded anteriorly, finely bordered and darkened along margin; clypeofrontal suture straight, deeply impressed, forming a pronounced transverse groove reaching the upper eye margin laterally. Labrum thick, broadly emarginate anteriorly. Eyes convex, subspherical, relatively small, diameter about equal to length of genae. Cephalic punctation coarse, squamose. Antennae: scape orange-yellow; club yellowish except darkened inner segment basally.

Pronotum. – Convex, fully bordered, punctation similar to that of the head.

Elytra . – With well-marked striae of medium-sized, closely spaced punctures; interstriae flat with 4–5 rows of setigerous granules. Humeral callus well developed. Scutellum triangular, tongue-shaped, apex rounded.

Legs. – Protibiae tridentate. Profemora with sharp flat tooth near femorotibial joint (inward-directed) and medial, obtusely rounded tooth forming a flattened triangular bulge in male. Meso- and metafemora each with a sharp flat tooth near femorotibial joint; metafemoral tooth larger with denticulate upper edge.

Genitalia. – Aedeagus with elongate, dorsoventrally curved phallobase, acuminate at apex; parameres short, symmetrical. Endophallus with three endophallites: two broad serrated plates and one smaller, arch-shaped apical endophallite with denticulate apex.

Sexual dimorphism ( Fig. 2). – Male: profemur with a medial, obtusely rounded tooth forming a flattened triangular bulge. Pollex [distal tooth located at the junction of the internal apical spur of the protibia] flat in cross-section, slightly concave dorsally in males; round in section, regularly pointed apically in females.

Comparative diagnosis. – Ochodaeus berytensis is easily distinguished from the two other species by its robust habitus, very transverse clypeus, and the absence of a clypeal horn in both sexes.

Ecology and trophic association. – Ochodaeus berytensis has recently been identified as a mycetophagous pest infesting Tuber aestivum truffle orchards in Upper Galilee ( Israel) (Huchet et al. 2022). Adult beetles actively feed on mature truffle fruit bodies, boring tunnels and cavities that significantly compromise their commercial value. While the beetles were consistently found within the sporophores, no immature stages were detected, suggesting that the species does not complete its life cycle in the truffle itself, but rather uses it as a feeding resource. This represents the first confirmed association between an Ochodaeidae species and a hypogeous fungus, providing direct evidence of mycophagy within this family. The seasonal infestation peaks between April and July and affects both cultivated and nearby natural habitats, underscoring the potential threat this species poses to truffle farming in the Mediterranean region.