New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts
Seasonality and life histories of two endemic New
Zealand carabid beetles (Coleoptera:
Carabidae): Mecodema oconnori Broun and Megadromus capito (White)
Melissa A. S. Hutchison
Ecology Group
Massey
University
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North 4442, New
Zealand
Present address: School
of Biological Sciences, University
of Canterbury, Private Bag
4800, Christchurch
8140, New Zealand.
mielitabeetle1@yahoo.com
Abstract Seasonal activity and
life
histories of two
large endemic carabid beetles, Mecodema oconnori Broun and Megadromus
capito (White), were investigated in two lowland forest remnants in
the
Horowhenua region, North Island, New Zealand. Seasonal activity was
estimated
from manual searches of surface refuges, plus pitfall trapping from
October to
March. Adults of both species were present throughout the year,
although M.
oconnori was much more abundant in spring. Megadromus capito
larvae
were caught from October to March, and the three instars overlapped
temporally,
implying a long period of larval emergence and development. Adult
females were
dissected to investigate their reproductive phenology. Both species
carried
eggs for at least 6 months of the year. M. oconnori females
contained
very few eggs, with a maximum of three eggs each and a mean of 1.6 eggs
per
female. Mg. capito females had up to 28 eggs each and a mean of
10.5.
Both species appear to have low egg loads, a relatively long period of
reproductive activity and long life spans, but longer-term studies on
the
pre-adult stages and reproductive activity of adults are required to
complete
understanding of their life cycles.
New Zealand
Journal of Zoology, 2007, Vol. 34: 79–89
0301–4223/07/3401–0079 © The Royal Society
of New Zealand
2007
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