Upper Midwest Stem Insect Survey

Stem borer (Coleoptera: Mordellidae) in Bromus

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Record no.:0109
Feeding guild:Stem borer
Taxonomy:Coleoptera: Mordellidae
Stages observed:trace, larva, adult
Hosts in Bromus:B. ?inermis (smooth brome)

I found a larva in its tunnel in a culm of the host in mid-November. The culm had lodged at a point about 20cm above ground level, and the larva was located in the base of the culm below the lodging point, near ground level. I successfully overwintered the larva, and the adult emerged in spring, leaving behind a small oval exit hole in the culm. The adult was a more or less uniform reddish-brown color, not unlike adults of Mordellistena spp. I reared from other hosts, but it has not yet been identified beyond family level. This was my first record of a mordellid in a grass stem in the stem insect survey.

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Page created: September 30, 2025. Last update: none