Seasonal occurrences of two mycophagous beetles, Bolbocerosoma nigroplagiatum and Nothochodaeus maculatus (Coleoptera: Bolboceratidae and Ochodaeidae), feeding on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal sporocarps in a stand of Cryptomeria japonica

Abstract

Seasonal occurrences of two mycophagous beetles, Bolbocerosoma nigroplagiatum (Bolboceratidae) and Nothochodaeus maculatus (Ochodaeidae), which are known to feed on the sporocarps of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, were observed. We set flight intercept traps on the ground in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) stand in Chiyoda experimental station of Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, located in Kasumigaura, Ibaraki. Both species was collected from spring to autumn and the collection reached a peak in early summer. On B. nigroplagiatum both male and female were collected similarly in all seasons but on N. maculatus the female was apparently collected more frequently than males. This is the first record for both species collected in the Japanese cedar stand.