Monophylla terminata (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 : 45-46

Monophylla terminata (Say, 1835) ; Cleridae : Tillinae (no tribal assignment)

Illustrations: Plate 2-N. Key to clerid genera, couplet 11-C, couplet 14-F, couplet 21-A, B, C

Distribution: FL to southern PQ to NE to AZ and northern Mexico.

- Recorded from: AL, AR, AZ, CO, DC, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OK, OH, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WI, WV, Ontario, Quebec, and Mexico ( Dorshorst & Young 2008; Burke et al. 2015; Lebel et al. 2019).

Kentucky counties (Map 16): Hopkins (1), Meade (1). The two Kentucky specimens were collected in the western half of the state ( Interior Plateau and Interior River Valleys and Hills ecoregions).

Years: 2006 (1), 2010 (1)

Months: April (1), May (1)

Collections (2): CEWC (1), JMLC (1)

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

Natural History: Nocturnal as adults. Hamilton (1895) first reported this species to feed on Phymatodes amoenus (Say) larvae in wild grape ( Vitis ). Wickham & Wolcott (1912) reported that it was reared from honey locust ( Gleditsia triacanthos ; infestation not noted). Bøving & Champlain (1920) reported that it is a nocturnal predator in dead deciduous trees or seasoned wood and reported the following rearing situations: American bittersweet ( Celastrus scandens ) infested with small cerambycid larvae; common persimmon ( Diospyros virginiana ) infested with the bostrichid Sinoxylon ; hickory ( Carya ) infested with Lyctus and Sinoxylon ( Bostrichidae ) and other larval borers; sassafras ( Sassafras albidum ) infested with Ptinidae ; ash ( Fraxinus ) lumber infested with Lyctus ; hackberry ( Celtis ) infested with the hackberry engraver ( Scolytus muticus Say ); oak ( Quercus ) and mesquite ( Prosopis ) with infestations not noted. Wolcott (1921) reported that it was reared from bamboo (infestation not noted). Knull (1951) added hickory ( Carya ) infested with Agrilus ( Buprestidae ) and the scolytine Charmesus and noted that it will feed on white pine weevil ( Pissodes strobi (Peck)) larvae. Gosling (1980) reported rearing it from walnut ( Juglans ) logs. Leavengood (2008b) reported that it was collected from lizard’s tail ( Saururus cernuus ) and emerged from poisonwood ( Metopium toxiferum ) based on label data.

Mimicry: Thought to be part of a mimicry ring in eastern North America that includes members of the families Buprestidae , Cantharidae , Elateridae , Lampyridae , Meloidae , Ptilodactylidae and other clerids ( Chariessa , Pyticeroides , Placopterus ) ( Mawdsley 1994).

Note: The distributions of the Necrobia species below are difficult to track due to them being widely reported in many hundreds of non-taxonomic, pest management and forensic papers. Therefore, the overall distributions below are based on GBIF data.