Occurrence of Vanonus brevicornis (Perris) (Aderidae) in Cheshire

摘要

On 22 August 2019 I found several clusters of a small yellow globular fungus emerging from a flower bed at the rear of my garden (SJ617842, VC 58 Cheshire). Two years previously a large fir tree Abies sp. had been felled at that spot and the stump removed by grinding. The resulting soil and timber mixture provided a good environment for fungal growth. I lifted a cluster of the fungus and brought it indoors for closer examination. The fruiting bodies themselves only contained dipterous larvae, but the underlying mycelial mass, mixed with soil, was inhabited by a number of small (1.5mm) and very active beetles which were unfamiliar. I determined them as Aderus (now Vanonus) brevicornis (Perris) using the key by Buck (1954). Telfer (2019) has photographs of all three British aderids which confirmed the identification. The beetles can be sexed from the form of the hind femora which bear a comb of small setae.