Silvanidae and Laemophloeidae (Coleoptera : Cucujoidea) from the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)

Abstract

The Silvanidae and Laemophloeidae of the Maltese archipelago are reviewed, based on literature records and, where available, examination of voucher material, as well as the study of additional material collected in recent years. A total of five species of Silvanidae are included of which, Airaphilus nasutus Chevrolat, 1860 and Oryzaephilus mercator (Fauvel, 1889) represent new records for the Maltese Islands. Silvanus lewisi Reitter, 1876, a tropical species, was collected alive from under bark of logs imported from Cameroon (intended for the timber industry). Six species of Laemophloeidae are also recorded from the Maltese Islands, of which, Placonotus testaceus (Fabricius, 1787), Cryptolestes capensis (Waltl, 1834), C. pusilloides (Steel & Howe, 1952) and Leptophloeus juniperi (Grouvelle, 1874) represent new records for the Maltese Islands. The record of Leptophloeus hypobori (Perris, 1855) by Cameron & Caruana Gatto (1907) was found to be incorrect as their material is Cryptolestes capensis (Waltl, 1834).