Neorthopleura thoracica (Say, 1823)

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 : 51

Neorthopleura thoracica (Say, 1823) ; Cleridae : Korynetinae (no tribal assignment)

Illustrations: Plate 3-H. Key to clerid genera, couplet 2-A, couplet 5-D, couplet 7-C,F, couplet 8-C, D; Neorthopleura key, couplet 1-A, B

Distribution: FL to PQ to NE to TX and into northern Mexico.

- Recorded from: AL, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, northern Mexico, Ontario and Quebec ( Wolcott 1909, 1910b; Bøving & Champlain 1920; Wolcott 1947; Knull 1951; Vaurie 1952; Papp 1960; Barr 1975, 1976b; Opitz 2013; BugGuide). There are records of N. thoracica from California, but Barr (1950) suspected that the inclusion of “Lower California” may have simply been due to Horn’s report of its collection in San Jose del Cabo, making the record erroneous since he observed no specimens from California. Older literature records including the Bahamas, Cuba and the West Indies were not substantiated by Opitz’ (2013) revision of the genus.

Kentucky counties (Map 21): Barren (1), Crittenden (2), Fayette (3), Gallatin (1), Jefferson (3), Jessamine (1), Madison (5), Whitley (1), Wolfe (2). Kentucky specimens were from localities scattered across the state.

Years: 1954 (1), 1955 (2), 1966 (2), 1967 (1), 1979 (1), 1990 (1), 1998 (1), 2010 (2), 2011 (1), 2013 (2), 2015 (4), 2016 (1)

Months: May (3), June (8), July (8)

Collections (19): CEWC (2), EGC-CRC (5), JMLC (3), OSUC (3), UKIC (6)

Collection methods: Malaise trap (4), blacklight (4), canopy trap (1)

Natural History: Bøving & Champlain (1920) reported the following rearing situations: oak ( Quercus ) infested by Neoclytus longipes (Drury) ; chestnut ( Castanea ) and oak with the buprestid Chrysobothrls femorata (Olivier) infestations; weevil ( Curculionidae ) infested Sassafras ; Obrium ( Cerambycidae ) infested ash ( Fraxinus ); red oak ( Quercus rubra ) infested by the cerambycid Tilloclytus geminatus (Haldeman) ; and grape ( Vitis ), hickory ( Carya ), locust ( Gleditsia or Robinia ), and persimmon ( Diospyros ) with unspecified borer infestations. Larvae can be found in the galleries and mines of their prey ( Bøving & Champlain 1920). Knull (1951) added oak infested with the cerambycids Neoclytus horridus (LeConte) and Phymatodes aereus (Newman) . Leavengood (2008b) reported that it has been reared from false tamarind ( Lysiloma latisiliquum ) and hackberry ( Celtis ) in Florida. Nocturnal, attracted to lights— Dorshorst & Young (2008) almost exclusively collected specimens at lights in Wisconsin.

Chemical lures: Ethanol (Montgommery & Wargo 1983); Lindgren funnel traps baited with (1) alpha-pinene, (2) turpentine + frontalin ( Leavengood 2008b, from label data).