Phyllobaenus verticalis (Say, 1835)

Chapman, Eric G., Leavengood, John M. & Dupuis, Julian R., 2025, The Cleridae and Thanerocleridae of eastern North America, with illustrated keys, updated distributions, and special emphasis on the Kentucky fauna, Zootaxa 5639 (1), pp. 1-88 : 62-64

Phyllobaenus verticalis (Say, 1835) ; Cleridae : Clerinae : Hydnocerini

Illustrations: Plate 4-L. Phyllobaenus key, couplet 3-E, couplet 5-E

Distribution: TX to FL to NB to MN to KS and eastern Mexico (Tamaulipas).

- Recorded from: AL, AR, FL, CT, DC, DE, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, VA, VT, WI, WV, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Quebec, and Mexico (Tamaulipas) ( Wolcott 1909; Wickham & Wolcott 1912; Bøving & Champlain 1920; Wolcott 1947; Knull 1951; Papp 1960; Barr 1975; Gosling 1980; Mawdsley 1999; Eliason & Potter 2000; Sikes 2003; Majka 2006; Werle et al. 2012; Steury & Leavengood 2018).

- New State Records: ALABAMA: Blount County : Highland Lake , BLT, 15-VII-2-VIII-2011, T . King ( FSCA, 1); Lee County: Opelika, 3-V-1992, M. J. Rothschild ( FSCA, 1); Dale County : Fort Rucker Mil. Res. , 7-V-1983, R . Turnbow ( RHTC, 1); Tuscaloosa County: Peterson , 2-IV-1966, B. D. Valentine ( FSCA, 1) . ARKANSAS: Desha County: malaise trap in pecan grove, 21-IV-1971, 10-V-1971, R . Kirkton ( UAAM, 2); Franklin County: ex pecan, 24-V-1972 ( UAAM, 1); Johnson County: 15-VI-1972 ( UAAM, 1); Lee County : 18-IV-1953 ( UAAM, 1); Monroe County : Brinkley , 28-IV-1941, D. J. & J. N. Knull ( FMNH, 1); Pulaski County : Little Rock , Camp Robinson flight intercept trap, 31-VII-2002, B. Baldwin ( UAAM, 1); Newton County : 1mi N Boxley, pitfall trap, 6-VI-1974, Heiss, Howard & Chenowith ( UAAM, 1) ; Washington County : 3-V-1963, E. Bell ( UAAM, 1) . DELAWARE: Kent County : 0.5 mi N of Dinahs Corner, 39°11’29”N, 75°38’50”W, at black light, 31-V-2002, R . F. C. Naczi ( RNC, 1) . GEORGIA: Clark County: Whitehall Forest , 23-IV, 5-7-V-1976, R . Turnbow ( FSCA, 3); Emanuel County: 2.5 mi S Kite , 11-V-1976, R . Turnbow ( FSCA, 1); Fulton County: 22-VI-1958, F. W. Mead ( FSCA, 1); Henry County: Nails Road , 21-IV-1986, R . Morris ( FSCA, 1); Johnson County: 1 mi E Kite , 29-IV-1977, R . Turnbow ( FSCA, 1); Lamar County: 26-VIII-1984, R . Morris ( RFMC, 1); Lee County: The Parks at Chenaw , mercury vapor and blacklight, 29-V-2004, R . Turnbow ( RHTC, 1); Montgomery County: 5 mi W Uvalda , 10-V-1987, R . Morris ( RFMC, 1); Towns County: base of Brasstown Bald , 23-V-1987, R . Turnbow ( RHTC, 1); Upson County: Sprewell Bluff area , 18-V-1987, R . Morris ( RFMC, 1) . MARYLAND: Baltimore County: Lutherville, 3-VII-1948, Anne E Thompson & Howden ( CMNC, 1); Garrett County : Swallow Falls , 23- IX- 1978, M. J. Rothschild ( FSCA, 1); Prince George’s County: College Park , 12-VIII-1948, H. F. Howden ( CMNC, 1) . MISSOURI: Boone County: Little Dixie, 15-V-1974, D. D. Kopp ( UMRM, 1); Callaway County : Little Dixie Lake , 20-V-1975 ( UMRM, 1); Holt County : Mound City , Malaise trap, 14-VI-1968 ( UMRM, 1); Iron County : Russell Mt. Trail, 1.6 mi W Hwy 21 on hwy CC , beating Carya ovata , 23-V-1997, T . C. MacCrae ( TCMC, 1); Jackson County: Burr Oak Woods Natural Area , on Quercus macrocarpa , 11-VII-1998, 12-VI-1998, 5-VI-1999, G. H . Nelson ( FSCA, 3); Madison County: Hwy 72 at Castor Riv Brdg , 13-VI-1975, D. D. Kopp ( UMRM, 1); Montgomery County : Danville , Graham Cv State Park , 3-VI-1975, S. E. Thewke ( UMRM, 1); Reynolds County : Stooping Tree Ridge , 15-VI-1973, J. A. Gagne ( UMRM, 1); St. Louis County : Chesterfield Village Monsanto Campus , on Acer Saccharum , 20-V-1997, T . C. MacCrae, S. R . Penn & M. J. Pleau ( TCMC, 1) . TENNESSEE: Hardeman County : Bolivar, emerged from Cercis canadensis , 4-6-IV-1974, 27-XII-1974, R . D. Ward ( CMNH, 3); Morgan County: Burrville, 22-VII-1950, B. Benesh ( FMNH, 1); Sumner County : Hwy 25, 2.9 mi NE jct. I-65, 5-IX- 2006 , R. Turnbow ( RHTC, 1) . WEST VIRGINIA: Pocahontas County: Monongahela Nat. Forest, 1.2 mi NE Frost, Malaise trap, 14-20-VII-1998, J. Strazanak ( RAAC, 1) .

- New Country & State Records: MEXICO: TAMAULIPAS: San Carlos, Cerro del Diente , 2800’, on Quercus , 13-III-1988, P. W. Kovarik ( TAMU, 1) .

Kentucky counties (Map 28): Fayette (3), Franklin (1), Jessamine (1), Madison (3), Powell (1). The few Kentucky specimens were collected in the Interior Plateau and Western Allegheny Plateau ecoregions .

Years: 1970 (1), 1971 (2), 1974 (1), 2003 (1), 2013 (2), 2020 (1), 2021 (1)

Months: June (4), July (3), August (2)

Collections (9): CEWC (1), JMLC (2), UKIC (5), iNat (1)

Collection methods: Lindgren funnel trap (1), Malaise trap (4), fogging (2)

Natural History: Osten Sacken (1861) reared it from white oak ( Quercus alba ) cynipid galls. Bøving & Champlain (1920) reported that this species has been reared from wild grape ( Vitis ) infested with the cerambycid Phymatodes amoenus (Say) and bittersweet (Celastris) infested with cerambycid larvae. Knull (1951) reported rearings from river birch ( Betula nigra ) with the buprestid Agrilus pensus Horn infestations, linden ( Tilia ) infested with the cerambycids Eupogonius pubescens LeConte and Grammoptera exigua (Newman) , black oak ( Quercus velutina ) infested with the buprestid Agrilus geminatus (Say) , and hickory ( Carya ) infested with unspecified wood borers. Cote & Allen (1980) reported that it preys on the two-lined chestnut borer Agrilus bilineatus (Weber) in oak ( Quercus ). Mawdsley (2002b) noted that it may occur on the foliage and flowers of herbaceous plants. Eliason & Potter (2000) reared larvae from cynipid galls ( Callirhytus cornigera (Osten Sacken)) in pin oak in Kentucky; it likely feeds on the cynipid larvae, taking 1-2 years to develop. Leavengood (2008b) reported collections from Malaise and McPhail traps. Dorshorst & Young (2008), from label data, reported collections from black ( Quercus velutina ) and red ( Q. rubra ) oaks in Wisconsin and that they were collected most reliably via flight intercept and Malaise traps in oak savannas. Author EGC collected two specimens fogging the canopy of a mixed deciduous forest in Kentucky. Label data above indicate collections from burr oak ( Quercus macrocarpa ), shagbark hickory ( Carya ovata ), sugar maple ( Acer Saccharum ), and an emergence from eastern redbud ( Cercis canadensis ).

Chemical lures: Leavengood (2008b) reported collections via Lindgren funnel traps baited with ethanol or alpha- and beta-pinene from label data, but the attractiveness of these lures to P. verticalis has yet to be tested.

Comments: Phyllobaenus nigrescens (Schaeffer, 1909) and P. curtipennis ( Newman 1840) were designated junior synonyms of P. verticalis ( Leavengood 2025) .