Brachypsectridae

Abstract: With the description of Brachypsectra vivafosile n. sp., from the Cabo Rojo desert area of Hispaniola, the beetle family Brachypsectridae now contains 4 described species. The family was originally known from the Dominican Republic by Miocene amber fossils of larvae. Genitalia are illustrated for the first time for the family. Relationships of the family within the Elateroidea are briefly discussed.

Abstract: A new genus of the family Brachypsectridae with two new species, Asiopsectra luculenta gen. et sp. n. (type species) from the Middle East (Iran) and A. mirifica sp. n. from Middle Asia (Tajikistan) are described. The genus Asiopsectra gen. n., in contrast to the genus Brachypsectra, is characterized by the 12-segmented bilamellate antennae, the very large and subcontiguous antennal fossae, the strongly raised supra-antennal keels, the very narrow mandibles, the presence of small “window” punctures on the elytra, the lack of keels along the posterior pronotal angles, and only a small patch of excretory hairs at the posterior edge of abdominal ventrite 5. A revised diagnosis for the family Brachypsectridae is given.

Abstract: The beetle family Brachypsectridae is a poorly known monotypic taxon consisting of the single genus Brachypsectra, itself composed of only three currently recognized species. We report the first collection of the adult Texas beetle Brachypsectra fulva LeConte since its original description, and we report the discovery of its larva on loblolly pine. The literature of the entire genus is reviewed. The beetle genus Brachypsectra LeConte is noteworthy because of its apparent rarity, strikingly peculiar larval form (Fig. 1), bizarre feeding behavior, and widely disjunct global distribution. In this paper we offer a review of the genus with a new, easternmost locality record for the Texas beetle, B. fulva LeConte, in North America, along with original observations of larval microhabitat, predatory behavior, culture, and adult emergence and flight-time. The Texas beetle was first described by LeConte (1874) on the basis of an adult specimen or specimens collected in that state between 1867 and 1874 by G. W. Belfrage (Geiser 1933). Horn (1881) illustrated what he believed to be an adult female, and suggested that the genus Brachypsectra (its larva yet unknown) belongs in Dascillidae. He also believed the male antennae would prove to be more developed than those of the female, pectinate in fact, but assuming that both sexes are present in our samples, no such differences exist. We can say that some adults are clearly larger than others.