A Beetle/Slime Mold Assemblage from Northern India (Coleoptera; Myxomycetes)

Abstract

Detailed records are given of the first substantial collection of slime mold-associated beetles from the Oriental Region, from temperate forests of the Himalayan foothills in Himachal Pradesh, northwestern India. Over 100 collections representing 9 families, 13 genera and at least 23 species of beetles are recorded from 66 host lots representing at least 27 myxomycete species. Predation on myxomycete fruiting bodies is reported for the first time for Philothermus and Spinocerylon species (Cerylonidae), and for previously unreported species of Dienerella and Enicmus (Lathridiidae), Agathidium (Leiodidae), Aspidiphorus (Sphindidae), and Baeocera and Scaphobaeocera (Scaphidiidae). Six species of 5 families (Ciidae, Coiylophidae, Cryptophagidae, Mycetophagidae and Lathridiidae: Corticariinae) are probably accidental captures. The significance of the collections is discussed and the Indian fauna compared to the better-known myxomycete fauna of North America. The general facies of these faunas is similar, but noteworthy differences include the prevalence of species of Aspidiphorus and Cerylonidae on slime mold fruiting bodies in India, and the complete absence of Anisotoma species (Leiodidae) which are a dominant presence on slime molds in the Holarctic Region.