Lecontella brunnea (Spinola, 1844)

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 : 44

Lecontella brunnea (Spinola, 1844) ; Cleridae : Tillinae (no tribal assignment)

Illustrations: Plate 2-L. Key to clerid genera, couplet 14-H, couplet 21-E, couplet 22-B, couplet 23-A, B, C, D

Distribution: FL to ME to NE to TX to AZ.

- Recorded from: AZ, DC, FL, GA, IA, IN, KS, KY, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NE, NC, NH, NJ, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, and Mexico ( Burke et al., 2015; Lawhorn et al., 2023; BugGuide).

- New State Record: SOUTH CAROLINA: Pickens County: Dovehaven, 8- IX- 1978, H. L. Dozier ( UGCA, 1) .

Kentucky counties (Map 14): Jefferson (1), Meade (1). The two Kentucky specimens were collected in the north-central part of the Interior Plateau ecoregion.

Years: 1959 (1), 1979 (1)

Months: July (2)

Collections (2): UKIC (2)

Collection methods: blacklight (1)

Natural History: Typically found in Hymenoptera nests. Rau (1944) reported that this species (as L. cancellata ) can be found in the nests of the yellow-legged mud-dauber ( Sceliphron caementarium Drury ). Knull (1951) added that it has been found in a bee’s nest in a decayed log. Foster and Barr (1972) reared it from the bee species Megachile rotundata (Fabricius) , Osmia lignaria Say , Osmia coerulescens (Linnaeus) , the vespid Monobia quadridens (Linnaeus) , and the crabronid Trypargilum striatum (Provancher) . In addition to these species, Bitner (1972) added Trypargilum clavautum (Say) , and the sphecid Isodontia auripes (Fernald) , and the larvae were observed in unbroken nest cells and sealed and opened cocoons containing only fragments of Hymenoptera larvae of these seven species. From label data, Mawdsley (2002a) reported that it has been reared from an abandoned Polistes nest but noted that it is common for megachilids to reuse such nests. Adults are most frequently collected at lights ( Mawdsley 2002a, from label data). More recently, Burke & Zolnerowich (2017) reported that it has been observed preying on buprestids and cerambycids (plant species not noted).

Comments: Burke et al. (2015) included AR in its distribution, erroneously mis-abbreviating Arizona.