AuWst 15, 1955

ATOLL RESEARCH BULLETIN

lio. l,2

The i n s e c t s and c e r t a i n o t h e r arthropods of Canton Island by

R. H. Van Zwaluwenburg

Issued by

THE PACIFIC SCIEMCE BOARD

National Academy of Sciences--National Research Council Washington, D. C.

AuWst 15, 1955

l%e Iilnectx ;!nd Certain oVn-r hrthropods of Cantan I s l a c 1 R. H. Vtn %w.hwenburg

The b a ~ i s of t,he present 'ist of erlhropods knmm t,o occur oil Ccn-ton I c l m d , i n t h e ?hoesix group, i s t h e w r i t e r t s +per "'i'he I n s e c t s of C~ilton I:sl:.ndn, which q ~ p i r e d in 136.3 i n t h e "i'roceedings" of t h e i-i?.~raj.i~n h t o - mologicd SocieLy (vol.11: Y00-312). Nineby-six :;pecie:; were l i s t e r ? i.n t h a t ??.per. Since th::n, following incz-ot:.sed a i r t r ~ n s ~ m r t z t i o n t o 2nd frc~m Canton during t h e r r c e n t wa.r, s e v e r t l a d d i t i o n s have hem made t o t h e F'wna o f -the z t u l L . Beside;; i a c l u d i n g i;rie new recor-15, the ) r e s e n t l i s t c o r r e c - t s r-. f e u e a r l i e r e r r o r s of i t l e n t i f i c a t i o n , omits some douf;%ul r c o r t i s , sad s u ; p l i e s sponyncus naxes whenever t h e s e h&ve ;lee;; <i::c:jvered.

l-;etaonort& aruinosus E r a r d t . Under h e a x of old coconuts.

-

Undetemined sp. Found i n s i n i i l ~ r 1ocatior.s with t h e -,receding ::owbug.

Untdeterniined s:). Beneeth s t r m d e d timbers on t h e lagoon beach.

I c o n ~ e t r - m&ccletus Degeer. O c c a s l o n d l y found i n bci1di,ngs..

Undetemined sp. I n and t!bout buildings.

. . . . . ^' .

. . . . .

S i c a r i i d a e .. . . . . . . . .

Scytodes sp.

Oonopidae

~mzso!norbha i;;inina Borland. D ~ s c r i b e d from Canton I s l m d i n Bishop Kuseum, Occ. Pa.pers, 17 (1): 5, 1'342.

. . . :: . . : :

Pholcidee

IJndeterrnined sp. A s i n g l e s:,ecimen i n a building, Sep-texber, 1941.

Letro:'ic?ctus mecttns (i"n.briciu.s)

.

The blrckc nic?ow s@er i ~ c s f i r s t found on Canton i n J u l y , 1949.

Undeternined s p . The orb-webs of z q i d e r e r e cons,xicuous bout buildings.

iicarina Gma;sidae

I

.

^{O n} t h e ground-nesting Polynesian ret. D r . C. 15.

I'emberton studied t h i s m c t e r i e l and r q o r t s

--

t h t t h e Canton sgecies nore c l o s e l y r e s m b l e s & e e 1 u s h e m i i e n s i s Ewing, tl!m

&.

echidr.in1.1~ (Eerlese)

.

Listro!~lhorides s,. h h a i r niite on t h e Polynesimi r a t . 0ri.ba.tidne

-

Undeterzlined s p . I n vegetable iiiouid w d e r :.:er,uvium plants.

Ixoidea

Ornlthodcros sp. The exuvilmi of on hrgrsid t i c k was found on ^8, shrub; no other i n a t s r i a l i s avn.il?.ble.

.A,fecistocephalus m u x i l l e r i s (Gervais)

.

I n s o i l benea-th o l d coconuts, cnd under sacking i n o u t b ~ i l d i n g s . The species i s probt.bly. t h e saxe a s t h a t occurring i n I i ~ . ~ a i i .

Undetermined sp. .4 s i n g l e specimen ?nw.ong j?s.pers.

Undetermined sp. One o r inore species i n moist s o i l beneath old coconuts.

Cu-ti:l.ia

--

s o r o r (Brunner). _Under b r a s on tine beoch, cnd i n s o i l be- ne2-th f a l l e n .noccnut.s.

!'eri:.!I.uet;2 , z e r i c m a ( L . ) . Comon both j.ndoors i n d c u t . -

--

.- -.

.

. .

i i x o l o m tmuhis (Fe.bricius). F i r s t noteii on Crnton by X.L.H. Kranss

-.

---

i n 3 e i p t c ~ b e r , 1950, m d ~ o r e recently r e g o r t e d t o be numerous. One of 'the few g r m s h c y p e r s which i s 2,tbrccted t o 1j.gj:hts. ^{. .}

dote- The rcsoril oi' Cone-ephlus : ; - l t i - t o r (;itu:;zilre) from Cz.nton was b:.sxi :,n a

-

d o i d s:!eci!nen. 'tclcm t o the i s l e n d i n gi;.;sw~rc fro!:!! Honolulu;

I t :&oulcl. be d e l e t e d fro;n t h e l i s t .

I(alotemes &i,rrrc:ns Snyciar. D r . A. E, m e r s o n ctonsiders C r l o t e m e s c u r v i t h o m Kelsey t o h e ?. s y i o n p ; ' t h i s l a t t e r rime wcs p o l ~ o s e d f o r t e r m i t e s f i r s t found on Canton i n lvidy, 1917.

E.IBIOFTERA 9 l i ~ o t . m i d a e

dlijiotoma s:.undersii (Kestwood)

.

Not uncomon under dea3 b i r d s , i n s o i l beneath o l d coconuts cnd i n d e b r i s o f , r , - . t s t nests.:

.Wisola'.is eteronoma B o r e l l i . A s i n g l e specimen wz.s found elnong p l a n t s brought from Honolulu i n June, 1941. The s p e c i e s y o b a b l y i s _. riot _..

e s t c b i i s h e d on Santon.

L i b e l l u l i d s e

Dinlacodes

---

b i o w c t a t a ( P r a u e r )

.

F i r s t noted i n June, 19!J.

P@ntc.la f l w e s c e n s ( F a b r i c i u s ) . F i r s . t noted on Caiton i n Februrry,

-- ---

1941.. Dragon f l y ?;,,u.le.tions ail Cm-ton p e s w c . b l y d i e out during adverse w r i o d s , but 3 r e c o n t i n ~ ~ d l y being recolonized by : d u l t s fJ.g.ir,g i n f r ~ m i t h e r P a c i f i c i s i m d s .

Unde-temiine3 S ~ I . Trken i n veget:.ble niould under S e s u v i u . bashes.

E c t ~ ~ s o c u s :,ei.kinsi 13cnks. One si;eci!en c o l l e c t e d by N. L. H. 1Cre.uss i n September, 1950, wes i d e n t i f i e d a.s this species by D r . D. E. Hardy.

*3rosius ? r p n n C s t u s (Xveng). The s:ponym, &seloha c e n t o n i s Cknzin, wcs described f r o r mate:.i:il. f i r s t c o l l e c t e d on Ccn-ton i n ::usst, 1949.

This l e ? S w p p r h a s. wide r m g e i n Vne P a c i f i c . On i h l t o n i t was numer- ous on Boel-hcvia diffusii 2nd i s susi>ected of being a p o s s i b l e vector of i?

"yellowsu d i s e s s o of Boerhzvia l e c v e s .

h h i s gossypii Glover.. Very.comrn.m on Portul;!ca l i ~ t e a 2nd on t h e istroduced Coccolobis uvifero; l e s s common on

Sitla

f2112x ind &csevoln.

Asterolecanium pus-tu3.sns ( C o c k e r e l l ) . On

t;ida

m d on t h e i n t r o - duced Thesnesia oo.xzlnea. Probably an i n t o r d u c t i o n fkom I-Iawaii.

Clir~so~nohalus e.oni.dm (L.). On coconut f o l i a g e and on i n - t r d u c e d

~~l:Lo~f~l!:~llLull.

Coccus hesi?eridum L. C)n introduced milo and oleander; an a c c i - d e n t d i ~ m n i g r m t , .,robably frcrr. IIavaii.

Pinncspis s t r a c h s n i (Cooley)

.

^{This i s} t h e sgecies p r e v i o u d y l i s t e d from Canton ^is & n i c h i o n e . s p i s (Meskell)

,

a ~ r n i s i c l e n t i f i c a ~ t i o n . On Canton it was found on Tournefortia arcentea.

Pseudococcus ncJ.mam ( ~ h r h o r n ) . On coconut; t h i s i.s t h e ~ ~ 3 e c i t . s l i s t e d a s Riperoia ~ ~ j L m a r m i n t h e 1943 l i s t of Canton i n s e c t s .

Pseu4oc~ccus

@-.(a :

..b Sceevole;; &!!is i s t h e species which e a r l i e f i a d recorded c~

-. 10n~~s~inu~zrgioni-~ozzettij .

S a i s s e t i a k m b h a e r i c a (Targioni-Tozzetti). A probcble immigrant.

from ~~&e,.i.i, or, introduced p l a t s such a s Hibri.scus t i l J _ c c $ u s ax1 C l l o t r o n i s

~ i g a x k e a ("crown flower!?) . , ..

,.

. . : .

Undeter:ii.n& sp. _A mealybug was common on

&,

on t h e stem a t . t h e base of t h e p i n t , and on t h e leaves, which were d i s t o r t e d a s a r e s u l t of t h e , i n f estatior:.

Geotorr,us_ ,uy(;nmug ( D a l l a s ) . A t Light.

Oechal.ia, orobably

-

consoci;iLis (13ois&nal). Nwhs and & l u l t s of t h i s bug were taken i n t h e housing w e a on Cantsn bv 3 t t 3 D e ~ e n e r -

.,

i n p i 1.951. It i s probably c o n s o c i a l i s vhich i s a widespread species i n t h e P a c i f i c and occurs on Fan~ing. and Christm?.s.isiends t o the north-

e a s t of Canton. .

Nabidae

Nabis causii'omis Gelmar. This:priide.ceous bug i s comon on l o w herbage;

-

it was recordeli e a r l i e r tmcter t h e generic name Xeciuvio&.

. .

, .

Cmpylomma near M a i i e n s i s Usinger. Collected i n t h e housing a r e a i n April, 1951 by Otto Degener.

Trigonotyltts brevipes &tkowl?f. A n e a r l y cosmopolitan grass-inhab- i t i n g bug. TWO specimens were c o l l e c t e d by Van ZwaLuwenhrg i n August,

1940.' . .

Cyrtorhinus zwalu~enburei Usinger. Described from m a t e r i a l swept from Boerhavia i n 1940 "Proceedsngs", Iimaiian Entomoiogical S o c i e t y j 1 2

(1): 1 8 , 1 9 ) . D r . Usinger suggests t h a t t h i s species which pregs on leafhopper eggs, may, i n t h e absence of Delphaciaae on Canton, be feeding on t h e eggs of t h e c i c a d e l l i d , Orosius argentatus (Evms).

Note- The undetemined mirid l i s t e d i n the 1943 pa-per wes l a t e r i d e n t i f i e d by

-

D r . 3.

L.

Usinger a s Pycnoderes quadrimaculatus Guerin.

The species has not been seen on Canton since.le40,. and t h e r e i s good reason t o believe _{. .} it was brought ithere from Honolulu i n a c o l l e c t i n g b o t t l e .

Gerridae

Helobates micans.Eschschol~z. Tnis marine s t r i d e r i s o f t e n found stranded on t h e ocean beach a t Canton.

Tachgs mucescens Bleclcburn. Two specimens a t l i g h t i n June, 19W.

I d e n t i f i e d by E. C. Zimmemm s s t h i s species, known previously only from Hawaii.

T a c h s sp. A si.ngle specimen i n t h e h o t e l kitchen, March, 194l..

-

Histeridae

--

C a ~ c i n o p s q ~ ~ ~ t u o r d e c . i n ~ s t r i a t a . ( S t e p h e r . s ) . I n bird droppings under rookeries.

Cox ynetidae

Necrobia r u f i n e s (Degeer;

.

The "copra" o r "ham" beei.le.

--

Ekterid*

Conoderus p a l l i g e s (Eschscholtz). F i r s t taken on Cmton by Otto Degener, i n May, 1.951.

Dermestes c x l a v e r i m s Fzbricius. 'dults i n decd nollusk s h e l l s . Niti:iulidae

--

C~irpo?hil.us hemiptems (L. )

.

Coccinellidse

Harmonia arcus:ta (Fabricius)

.

Often numerous on

m,

t h e ad.ults c l u s t e r i n g on t h e underr;ides of t h e leaves. Also associated with

&-

nossypii on Scaevola.; on Eoerhzvia t h e l a r v a e have been observed t o feed on d r o p l e t s excreted by Orosius.

Antiicus oceanicus Laferte. Under dead. seabirds.

Tenebrionidae

Gonocephdun adorecsiforme Xaszab. F i r s t t&en on Cznton i n Janu- ary, 1951, by D r . P. M. Corboy. Occurs &so on Luzon i n t h e Philippines, and on 3ahu.

. .. . . , .:

, . .. ~. .

. .

Scarabaeidae

. .

Pleurophorus oarvil1.u~ Chevrolat. A s i n g l e specimen taken i n ~ u : ~ , l9W.

Sanrosites pymaeug I i a r r i s . One specimen i n soil.under.01cLcoco- nuts, S e a t e ~ b e r , 1940.

---

Araecerus v i e i l l a r d i ( N o n t r o u d e r ) . F i r s t taken on Canton by Otto

-- ---

Degener, Apsil 28, 1951. _{. .}

Calaindra o r w a e (L.). I n h o t e l kitchen.

---

. . , . .

Dryomiixxs, ~ 4 m e ~ i c u s Horn. Too specinlens taken by N.L.1i. ~ r a u ' $ s i n Septe?.belT, 1950.

Tin. ci dae

--

Petrochroa dimoruha ' h s c k . This t i n y moth feeds i n t h e dead t r a s h about bunchgrass clumps, and i c , o f t e n exceedingly a b 2 a n t . It, occur:: on

Wake I s l a n d also.

Anhthonetus sp. Wken a t l i g h t ; f i r s t noted i n October, 1940.

. . . .

Hymenia recurvnll> (~&i.ci.us). k d u l t s c w ~ e t o l i g h t s ; t h e l a r v a e w i l l probably be found t o fee6 on Aiiaranthu~ on Canton.

Arctiidae

Utetheisa pulche:Ll-oidesHampson. Breeds on E u r n e f o r t i a , on t h e

-- -

l e a v e s of which t h e e a r l y stages of t h e l a r v a e produce a "window paneM e f f e c t .

Achaee j a n a t a (L.). The l a r v a e foed on Cordia slubr-ord~ta.

Amma octo Guenee. The green caterpillars fe-d on

Sicla.

leaves.

H e l i o t h i s armigera (Hubner). The n s t o r i o u s "corn earl1 worm, o r

"tomato

.

^.

Laphyma exempta (Valker)

.

The l a r v a e of t h i s aarpi&m feet! on bermuda grass, and on the bunsh grasses, D i ~ i t a . r i ? . pxii.fiic_a a ~ . d Lenturns repens. An egg-parasite, Te1eno1w.s nawa,i was introduceCi from Honolulu i n 1941, and prompt,ly began breeding i n Lanhyma eggs; i t i s not known i f i t s t i l l survives on Canton. _{. , . .}

. :

Prodeni$ l i t u r a (Fabricius)

.

On Cwton the l a r v n e of t h i s des- t r a c t i v e s p x i e s feed on Lepturus, Oirritt.ria,

:ids,

tomato and sxeet- potato.

UndetonnineCl sp. I r r e g u l a r feeding holes a r e common on Screvola lecves, made by a bright-green c a t e r p i l l a r probably belonging t o t h i s

--

f m i i l y of moths. The dmage i s conspicu.ous, but during my s t x y on t h e i2qiana c a t e r p i l l a r s were r a r e . Apparently t h y feed by night' z n d h i d e i n t h e sand during t h e day. Attercpts t o r e a r c a t e r p i l l a r s t o the a d u l t

stage were unsuccessful.

Denaidae

-

Donatcia plc;;i.~gm~

--

(?.,. )

.

riccasioncl t,attere:d specinens of t h e

monarch butter~?Ly were sean on Canton during 194.0 and 1941, but the species was riot breeding t h e r e a t t h a t t h e . Since then o c c a s i o n d f r e s h speci- mens have been t&en which suggest thitt they a r e breeding l o c a l l y , per- haps on t h e introduced crown-flower.

H ~ ~ o l i m n a s bolina (L.). W e l l established i n l 9 W and 'breeding on Sida.

-

DIPTIFA f l y c e t o ~ h i l i d a e

Undetermins s?. On s o i l under o l d c i c o r i ~ ~ t s . Tondi~>edida.e

3nde'terminud sp. On n a t i v e vegetstion.

Sciariclae

--

Undetem.i@ sp. On vegetation.

Dolichopo-

Chrysosoma sp.

Hydrophorus sp.

Syrphidae

Abundant on 'brackish pools.

f i e d a s Ischlodon u c n i c i l l a t u s ( H u l l ) . This f l y was misidenti

Ischiodon s c u t e l l a r i s (Fabricius) i n t h e 1943 l i s t . Lonchaeidae

I,srr;~rolonchaea (Macquart) . F i r s t taken on Centon by Krauss i n September, 1950; ident-ifizd by D. E. Hardy.

Pseu&uxesta prim& Ostrn Sackm, Determined by D. E. Hardy. A

---.

-

synonpn i s ^--.- Euxcsta - s i m i f a s c i a t a :,idloch. This i n probably t h e Lkxfsta sp. of t h e

1'3/+5

l i s t , on b i t s of orgenic ~ n a t t e r along t h e beach.

Scholsstes_ U a c u l a t u s Hendel. Breeds i n r o t t e n rnwt of green coconuts.

Tcthina i n s u l a r i s Aldrich.

F m d r i d a e

Necamcde ~ e r s i n l i l i s Henflel.

Paralimna l i n e a t a de Meijere. Collected i n November, 1940 by

-.- --

R. R. Dznnm; i d e n t i f i e d by i)r. I!. W. WirLh.

S c a t e a sp. On brackish ponds.

-

Ophiomyia s c a e v o l ~ e Frick.

A

l e s f h i n e r i n Scuevola frutescens; i t i s p a r a s i t i z e d by a aalophid, Pnigd.io_ sp. The description of 0. Scaevol.ae a.ppeo.red i n t h e "Proceedings" of t h e Hwaiian Entomologicd ~ o c i e t z 15:209, 1953.

Milichiidae --

Desmornetopa m-nigrum Zettersted. Bleeds i n dead mollusks.

M i l i c h i e l l a

-

lacteipennid (Loewj. .Common, hovering over foliage. _{. .} Chloropidae

Cadrema p a l l i d a (Loew)

.

^{I n the 1943} l i s t as _{. .} ~ r o h i p p e l a t e s . S i ~ h u n c u l i n ~ s i g n a t a Wollaston. Not common.. _{. .}

Muscidae

Atherigona excisa t r i l i n e a t , a S t e i n . I.Iusct._ domestics

L.

Calliphoridse

Phcenicia s e r i c a t a (Meigen). Bred fmrn dead r a t ; very common.

. . ..

. .

Sarcophaaidae

Sarcophaaa

&

Thornson. Very common.

Evaniidae

-

Evmia ampendigaster (L.). This species was introduced t o Canton from Honolulu i n - k g u s t , l9i+O, and soon becane well e s t ~ b ' l i s h e d i n the egg-cases of P e r i & i n e t a a a e r i c m a . I t a p p a r e r ~ t l y continues 'to be pres- ent, f o r Otto Degier c o l l e c t e d a speciinen i n May, 1951.

Pnigalio sp., probsbly external. (Tirnberldce). This i n s e c t was bred from xlines of ';he agcomyzid 1eaf:fiiner i n Sca.evola, 0 ? J h i . ~ m ~ i ~ - s c a e v d a e ( c a l l e d l ~ o t o n i ~ ~ - n ~ ~ ~ p h ~ ~ y i ~ a i n t h e 1943 l i s t ) .

Mote- I n Zen-tember, 1941, a d u l t s of Eu:uplec.trus c!.a.thoe;lae Ashrilead, were brought t o Cmton from Honolulu t o p a r a s i t i z e the l a r v a e of L a v h ~ w a .

--

There Eppears t o be no evidence t h a t t h i s wrisp becme established.

Telenonus n w a i Aslunead. This egg p a r a s i t e of Laphyma exmfita was int,roduced f'rom Honolulu i n August, 1941, and one month l a t e r was reared from eggs of t h e army worm moth. It i s not known i f i t s t i l l survives on

Canton.

Formicidae

Tetramorium. Guineense ( F i b r i c i . ~ ~ ~ )

.

T e t r m o r i u m si-lil.li.n;u.%

-

( F . ~ r c i t h ) . I n s c i l beneat?? p i l e s of coco- nuts, etc.

Taninoma &~nocewhalm (Fabricius)

.

^On

^Sida

p l a n t s .

Carjiponotus va.riegatus h:awsiiensis Forel. The f i r s t specimens of t h c c s r p e n t w a n t .-to be kcown from Cmton, were collected t h e r e i n t h e housing area by Gtto Degener i n April, 1950.

Parstrechina 1ongicc;rnis ( ~ a t r e i l l e )

.

The "crazy ant" wzs t,he dominant species on Canton i n 1940-W.

P a r a . t r e c h i ~ burbonicn h m w i i e n s i s F o r e l . .

-

Sphecidae

Sceli;2hron caementari'cm iirury. his mud-dauber wasp was f i r s t col- l e c t e d on Canton by N. L. H. K r m s s ir, October, 1950. I t wa.s c o l l e c t e d

subsequently by Degener d s o .

Pachodmerus nasidens ( L e t r e i l l e )

.

F i r s t c o l l e c t e d on Cwton by J . P. Martin on December 30, 1946. It appea.rs t o be a b a d a n t t h e r e now.

'Jncleternined sp. Found a s ea:-ly a s Novmber, 13iJ. A s e r i e s was

----

coilecterl l a t e r by Degener.

NuuericaS s ~ ~ m a r y or' Canton Island nrthropods

Isopods 2

?imphipods 1

Scorpions 1

Spiders 6

i G t e s

7" 3

. . ~ c k s 1 H y r i o p d s 1 I n s e c t s

Thysanura 1 Collen~bola 1 Orthoptera 7

I n s e c t s

Derrnaptera 1 . .

Unbioptera 1

Drz;;on f:l.ies 2 Corrod,:.ntio 2 iioioptsra 1.0 Heteroptern 7 Cclecptma 1 5 T,epidc?'Lera 1 2

Diptera 22

iiynenoptera 3.2

Tile d o v e l i s t g i v e s a t o t a l o f 1 C 8 arthropods, 93 of them i n s e c t s , and 1 5 belonging t o reinted. orders.